I read this interesting article from my friend Aayesha Rai Gurung's blog Icey Writes.... Please do go and check her articles... They are amazing!! No really!! They are funny, witty and very touching!
Being groped on a public bus
-By Aayesha Rai Gurung
I froze in my seat as
he started to fondle my chest with the arm sticking out to my side. I thought
of screaming and pushing him away but there I was - 13 and tiny in front of
this huge, burly man. I seemed to have lost my voice, tears welled up in my
eyes and I could feel my face getting hotter and redder by the second. It took
all my strength to get up from my seat and get off the bus.
You know how people
talk about that one incident that left them emotionally scarred? This was it
for me. That day I went home and spent a good hour in the shower crying and
trying to cleanse off that vile feeling of being groped by a stranger. I told
no one and I did nothing about it.
Years later, I was in high school. I had managed to score
the corner seat at the back of the public bus I always took to school. I had my
backpack on my lap to keep my legs warm. Halfway to my stop, I realized that
the man next to me had his hand on my thigh under the backpack. I couldn’t move
a muscle and I could feel his hand inching towards my inner thigh.
I felt like the 13 year old me all over again; the one that couldn’t do anything about that pervert on the bus years ago. I felt sorry for myself and angry at this loser trying to pry in between my legs. I owed it to the younger me to slap this f*cktard right on his stupid face. And that’s exactly what I did.
THWACK!
All heads turned towards me as I lifted up my backpack and
got his filthy hand off my leg. I started swearing (the ones that I knew at
that time) at the top of my voice trying to hit him as I flung profanities at
him and other stuff like "Tero aama laai gayera samaat!" (Yeah, I swear a lot!) The people around us saw what was going on
and the women started yelling at him. Someone told the driver to stop the bus.
There were talks of handing the man over to the police and some women were
attempting to hit and pinch him. Eventually, he got off the bus with pinch
marks on his arms, minus his dignity.
That day, as I walked to school from the bus stop, I
realized that the world is so full of perverts; men without a shred of
conscience trying to get a feel wherever they can. I don’t know if it’s a
mental illness or some kind of fetish thing among sexual predators. But it
happens. I have heard stories of men
just letting their hairy junk fly around the place as they run after
schoolgirls in dark alleys. Some told
stories of men trying to dry-hump very young boys in crowded buses. One of my
friends felt a man jerk off behind her as they stood in a crowded public bus
and found dried up semen on her clothes when she got home.
To people who are reading this, I urge you to teach your
children and younger ones about these stuff. It’s very important to educate kids
about this from a young age. Children who are being sexually abused may not
even be aware that they are being victimized if they are not taught where
people should not touch them. Same goes for children who might be abusing other
children because they might not know their own boundaries and might continue
doing so even when they are adults.
I make it a point to teach and remind my young cousins about this from time to time. And not just children and young girls and boys, everyone should prepare themselves just in case one is faced with such a situation. I believe in the mantra – “better safe than sorry”.
So if you happen to be
travelling alone a lot, it might help to-
- Learn some basic self-defense moves.
- Carry some sort of defensive item with you. Maybe a sharp paper-cutter, or a pointed nail-filer, or even a bunch of keys lodged in between your fingers. (I know it sounds paranoid and extreme, but when I was studying in India, I had this small, thin salad knife with me in my purse wherever I went. What? With the things you hear about Delhi, you never know!!)
- Get a pepper spray. If you can’t find/afford to buy it, make your own (click here to find out how you can make it on your own)
- Make use of technology. There are apps that help you send your exact location to your near and dear ones in case of an emergency just with a touch of a button.
- Know your rights. Don’t be afraid to hit the psycho in his horny balls. It’s self-defense, bitch!
And always remember, humiliation
and the public are your saviors.
The one thing predators are most terrified of
is exposure. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are being victimized,
do whatever you can to get the attention of people around you. When the people see what is happening, they
will come to your rescue.
Sooo yeah, this is all I had to
say. Stay safe, everyone.
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