I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to pose this question but I was just having a discussion the other day with some women and the subject of harassment came up. Every single woman had a tale to tell! Whether it was harassment on the street, at work, on public transport. I once had a bunch of boys smack my bottom in full view of a number of people (none of whom intervened) at a train station and all I could do was scream at them and run away. It's been years since that incident and I still get very upset every time I remember it. Since having my daughter, I dread to think that there may come a time when she will undergo the same experience of unwelcome stares or touch simply because she is a girl. How many other women have had such experiences and what can we do to prevent our daughters from suffering similar incidents. How many men out there know of a woman who has suffered in this way? Every single woman that I have spoken to has experienced something and I know of at least one woman who was raped. Is this the norm now? Something that is simply accepted and avoided if possible?
You cannot stop each and every incident. One should be aware and equipped to take care of it by self . Be bold, slap the guy or shame him which is in your hands, we cannot behave as abla naaris and expect some one to provide a helping hand, people are busy, they will not come to your aid always. Get our daughters self-defense training , let them earn black belts in karate or tae-k-wando , it is a life skill. You need to teach them to be aware of surrounding and learn to take care of self.
Hi op, Most of the women who face the public on daily basis would have definitely experienced. We cannot change the society at the same time we cannot hold our daughters away from society. All we can do is teach them how to handle the situation. We can train them some self defense skills that would give them mental and physical strength to face the evils. It is a bitter truth...I don't see a solution even in near future.
I agree with the self defense classes and both my kids are enrolled in them. I also agree with armummy about learning to defend ourselves instead of waiting for someone else to help us, but when you are young and you've been taught your entire life about how girls should and should not behave, raising our voices is not the first thought that comes to mind when such a situation arises. How many of us have been conditioned to keep our heads down and our voices low both at home and when we are out and about in public? It's such so saddening when you realise that every single woman that you speak with has been affected by unwanted attention.
We need to guide boys while growing up, how to be a normal guy. There are so many things in Indian society that makes them not respect woman as a human but look them as a just object.
I felt indian men have a feeling tht woman are for groping n to be touched in public. They just do as if its their right.. have heard many many many incidents from frnds coznSs of course even i have went through and sadly have seen it to my mom also. At that second feels shattered or terrified n forgets to respond and keep quite. Thts the trigger for the culprits ,as long as som1 responds. When I was young as soon as i got intonthe bus i just ran towards drivers seat, since am afraid to stand in the middle area (gosh wat all precautions) Recently saw a video on womans day a female employee reverting to her bad boss. That really had nice message which every woman needs to stand up alone , fight it alone.
Well have been there, shouted, screamed and sometimes kept quite.We as Society need to be more sensitive about these issues and need to control our boys. Need to inculcate the values in them. But as an individual, we can ask our daughters to be more vocal, be bold. Dont just bear . They need to stay strong and react immediately. No need to feel embarrassed or ashamed for raising their voices. They strongly need to feel that it is not their fault. The more women do this , the more boys will refrain from doing it because those creatures by nature are cowards.
Irrespective of how we bring up girl children with Dos and Donts, the least a girl can do in public is to raise her voice. I have also experienced these kind of harassment. And have been quite,raised my voice ,like tried all. I realised that there is a lot of difference in the reaction of the abuser when we raise our voice. though he knows that people may not come to help the victim, he is threatened when the victim shows courage. And as others mentioned, we need to bring up boys with good morals so that such incidents are prevented.
