Being 26

My Lucky Stars. I know I would have been gang raped that day in Mathikere, one of the most crowded areas, if I hadn't rushed to my car & locked myself in & driven off at TOP SPEED. My brother & I had been to a restaurant a few lanes past my house. We parked in a dark by-lane opposite an old building, a hostel. There was rush in the hotel too & too many men. My bro feeling protective and did not want me to stand in the Queue. We decided one would get the food and the other would pick the car and come back to the hotel. As I was walking towards my car, I felt a groups of guys walking into the same lane as I was. I heard footsteps behind me. The Footsteps started gaining speed. I could hear them now & understand a few words of malayalam. "Lets catch the deer". Alarm bells rang in my head, strategies to escape the group of perverts. If I had run, they would instantly catch me. Hence I picked pace gradually and rushed to my car, sat in and locked my doors immediately. Started the vehicle. By the the guys had caught up and come to the car. They tried opening my door & started banging on the window & top. I just drove at top speed & might even have injured the foot of the person trying to open the door. It was a scare I still cannot forget. An advantage of a few seconds saved my life that day.

Action Shero Anonymous

Place: Bangalore

Being 13

Well I haven’t had any nerve-wracking experiences, as far as eve-teasing is concerned. Mild forms of eve-teasing such as cat-calling, staring, passing comments, or just a once over, at least one of them is a daily dose for every woman.

The debate remains-How much is too much? To what extent must women ignore and move on? Is retaliating the best solution? Does walking away in silence with your head down seem right to you?

There’s no dearth of pepper sprays, pocket knives, or even self-defense classes. But what purpose do all of these serve when we are attacked and for a split second, we find ourselves in the shackles of fear, worry and helplessness.

With recent comments by politicians stating that women must learn to dress acceptably and must not get carried away by western influences, and blaming the rampant cases of rape on the explicit content featured in the films nowadays- Who is answerable?

In a century where there are cases of a woman being raped in her own apartment by her watchman, precautions like stay indoors after a certain time seem laughable.

So what should a woman do when confronted by such situations? If she turns around and slaps the offender, what’s to stop him from returning with a bunch of other hooligans like him, and swarming around the woman rendering her vulnerable?

Subah chaai peete waqt, akhbaaron mein balaatkaaron ki khabrein padhte toh hai, magar hamdardi ke alaawa de bhi kya sakte hai? (We read the news of women being raped as we sip our tea, but what more can we do apart from sympathizing? )

Action Shero Shipra

Place: Bangalore