Every time some new crime against women (I am beg to hate that phrase) occurs, all the (jobless) news channels (think INDIA TV-who definitely need to do something about their programming, AAJTAK-another channel gone down the drain) start doing the whole commentary on how indian women feel unsafe in certain cities, at certain times, in certain areas and with certain people. The only thing left to be done seems to be starting a list of all people who women should run screaming from(try any guy in UP/Bihar/Delhi and u have begun your list well). But what no one tries to understand is what is the fear we have to face.
Imagine u have a lakh rupees in cash [imagine the currency of your choice here :)] in your pocket and now imagine that its 0200 hrs and u are walking through the scariest areas of your town- try chandni chowk or paharganj in delhi or dharavi in mumbai. Every single sound has a meaning now. That is what it is what it feels like for most women in India today. The constant checking and rechecking of to make sure there are other women around you, that too many men are not looking at you, that you are not being looked at by too many men, that you are not smiling in general, that head in either bent to face the ground or looking vaguely into the horizon. There is no one trying to make eye contact with you, no one behind you, no one in front of you, no one following your car for the last half an hour, no person you have seen twice in two diff places in the same day. Sounds like a pretty weird scenario from some B grade WWII movie? This is the fear women face daily. This is what it means to be a woman in India today.
9 years ago
