RESPECT ME

I have to face the horrifying experiences of cat-calling even when I am wearing a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt on a daily basis while walking down the road. I have to go through horrendous groping dressed in the same manner while travelling in the crowded metro on a daily basis. There was an incident which goes as such - on a weekday office time in an overcrowded metro a bunch of office-goer men were literally pushing me out of the door saying me to board the metro through the door beside “ladies” seat as if rest of the doors are entitled to ”gents”.

Maximum of male passengers of public transport and male pedestrians acts as if the road and public transport vehicles belongs to them and as if they are the only tax-payers for infrastructural development and we are nothing but “useless-eaters”. We women contribute to 50% (approximately) of Indian population. We provide more than 50% of the workforce whether it is domestic or industrial yet we earn less than 2/3rd of what overall male population earns. 

We are not supposed to be ogled at by any anonymous passerby as if we are booby–waisty-butty aliens from Venus roaming around on the streets. We should stand tall against all those incidents of sexual oppression and should fight against all those oppressors in our own might and consider those who watch an incident of sexual oppression or harassment on a lady and keep their calm as a partner of an act of sexual oppression. All those silent onlookers are as mentally regressive as those oppressors.

If a woman goes to lodge a complaint of sexual harassment, leave alone complaints of rapes, they are faced with another round of sexual harassment by the police men who raise uncivilized questions regarding social habits, drinking habits, dressing habits as well as sleeping habits of those women and prolonged this questioning sessions till midnight ending with saying “let’s grab a drink in nearest pub”. Here the protectors are word-raping the victims.

To end this all, I say, as a slut walker, I do not demand the freedom to dress skimpily. What I hate the most is that the supposingly “moral teachers” tell women how to dress but does not teach men not to rape. Oh well I get it, men think women are the source of corruption and that in order to stop the world coming to an end you must tell us what to think and how to act (and what to wear) because of course we have no brains, no sense of social responsibility, no spirituality and no reason. Women are constantly preached to about social responsibilities even though we are not the ones responsible for most domestic abuse, violence, crime, rape or “corruption”.

It’s time for our menfolk to preach to themselves about social responsibility. I believe both men and women have responsibilities to act and dress modestly. So men, be respectful to our intelligence and change yourself instead of blaming us for your perverted minds. All I want is not being blamed in any manner whatsoever, whether for dress, mannerism or life-style, for having being raped or sexually harassed. Neither do I believe that all men harass women nor am I a misandrist. I participate in this movement as I am against anyone who harasses ANYBODY and anyone who tries to blame ANYBODY for having been harassed- man, women or transgender.

- By Moupriya Das