Mehar Zarger
As soon as my day began, I came across a notification on WhatsApp. A news from Baramulla was doing rounds in the news groups. As per the said news, a person had been arrested for placing a camera inside a changing room of a cloth store. I was taken aback and thought to myself how unfortunate it was that such incidents have started happening in Kashmir. Little did I know that something of this nature would happen to me too.
After breakfast, I left my home in Shalimar for getting some essentials and groceries. Since it’s been raining cats and dogs in the valley for some days now, streets are almost deserted.
On my way back, I realised I was being followed by a car, in an unusually slow speed. I hurried towards home and upon this, the guy in the car started honking the horn of his cars and whistled at me which made me uneasy. I was near an Astan in the locality I live in. He jumped out of his car and blocked my path.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” He said with a smirk. My heart had started racing by now and I tried walking away. He grabbed my hand and told me he “just wanted to talk” to me.
I felt uncomfortable and wanted to get myself out of the situation. All of a sudden, a car pulled up and the driver honked the horn. The horn made him leave my hand and I rushed into the Astan, where I sat for a while. I wanted to make sure that he leaves. I was perplexed, and sweat was rolling down my face.
After a few minutes, I thought of leaving for home. I chose a different route so I could track if he was around and escape. I dialed my friend’s number and shared what had happened with me. But within a couple minutes, I heard someone laughing. As soon as I looked towards my right, I saw him there. He attempted to snatch my phone, but I held on to my phone and managed to run away.
I reached a shop near the Astan, where I asked the shopkeeper for help. In turn, I was told to get away from the guy and to run back home. Disheartened by the apathy, I ran towards my home. Once I reached home I couldn’t help but think of how vulnerable I’d been in those deserted streets, and how I was met with apathy when I asked for help.
After relaxing for a while, I shared the ordeal on my social media handles, where along with sympathy from some people, I was told to upload images of the harasser and his vehicle. Some had also asked for me to prove that what had happened to me was true. I wasn’t in a state wherein I’d take pictures of him or his vehicle. All I’d wanted was to escape the discomfort his presence had caused me.
I’m grateful to the folks who reached out and sympathized with me. But I do want to express my discontent at the growing cases of harassment females face in our society. It is no news that women passengers face harassment in public transport.
The incidents of eve teasing on streets and roads have started to surface too. And since some days, we’ve also witnessed a wave of misogyny online.
I want to ask the thoughtful and the well-meaning section of our society, how long do you intend to stay quiet on such incidents? I’m a young journalist who has just started out. I want to ask those in this industry, how long do we keep on expressing shock at such incidents in the headlines? What will it take for the industry to engage with these issues? Do we only want to add gender as a beat to our CVs or do we really want to engage with gender bias that persists in the society?