What a Girl Goes Through Every Day!
It’s just the Girl who knows her Daily Phenomenon, it’s only her who knows what she faces everyday!
It is a usual monotonous day. She sets out of her abode, be it a home or a working women’s hostel and walks by the thin lane of her locality to reach the bus stop. In the lane, few young bikers put their gaze on her and whistle. Yes, she is a part of corporate world, and dresses up smartly subjecting her to intent stare. It’s a normal weekday and so there is a huge rush. She could not find a place to sit and choose to travel standing like many others. While a man is staring at her, some other falls upon when the bus jerks suddenly. She sees a man trying to stand close to another woman. When rebuked for the same, he simply says it is the lack of space. Another woman feels uncomfortable, though she has a seat. Once in a while, the men standing near would stand too close brushing themselves against her, but would not even apologize.
In the same city, there is another college going girl, who gets to hear lewd comments and blares when she passes by the boys’ hostel to reach the department of her own university.
There from the same locality, a man steps out for work. He passes the same thin lane to reach the bus stop but no one ever notices him. He catches the same bus. He too is dressed up properly, yet is not being stared at. Though he does not find a place to sit, no woman standing nearby falls upon him. Such a thing happens rarely, but when it does, the female apologizes unlike the men. The college going guy is the king of his own world. He is handsome, but yet never feels stalked like the pretty girls at college. He is not whistled at or molested. At some corner of the city, a couple enters home from work. They had the regular day as described above. She heads into the kitchen either to instruct the servants or cook all by herself; while he amuses himself reading the newspaper or watching television. He goes to sleep yet she is working, deciding tomorrow’s breakfast menu, setting up the house right, filling the laundry bag; though her office work was equally tiresome as that of her partner. At the end of the day, whether she is a young employee, a working home-maker or a college student, no one asks her about the day’s harassment. The husband did not ask his wife, if she felt uncomfortable anywhere today. The college girl’s family did not enquire about the same. Perhaps that is why, tomorrow when she might be followed for a while by few youngsters, she won’t find the guts to complain. It is definitely not the lack of space in the public means of transport, neither the people staring at her have an eyesight problem!! It is lack of intellectual space in the thinking of men; it is a sheer lack of good intentions. We are too afraid to talk and reform as a society and too afraid to speak as an individual. The young stalkers must not forget, few years later their daughters and wife would go through the same. Then, when you will demand respect, I will remind, you, yourself have brought this shame!!
———— About the Author: This article has been contributed by Srishti Raj, our intern. Srishti is a student of Computer Science & Engineering at KIIT University at Bhubaneswar. She is an avid reader and a keen observer who yearns to see a change in the society.
