I went to the market with my Friend. We did some shopping and I had a sudden urge to go have a ice cream and that too at Corner house… actually I have been having that urge from quite sometime now but ignoring it from sometime but today it was like I NEED ONE… Delhi is too hot u know.
I was sitting at one of the Nirulas outlet and enjoying my  fudge.


I was suddenly conscious that there was a group of about 7 men standing on the pavement, right beside the outlet. My first thought was that it was just a bunch of guys hanging around, perhaps waiting for someone. But then, as time went by, I realised that they weren’t moving. And they were a bit too old to be college kids - perhaps in their late 20s or early 30s. What were they doing just standing on the pavement for so long?

 Almost immediately, I felt silly. I mean, a bunch of men stand around on the road and one gets suspicious? Yet, part of me wouldn’t push the possibility away. After all, by now it was almost 10 minutes since these men had been standing there. And from time to time, they would look at us. Was it just the regular ‘checking out women’ or something more sinister?


I decided to voice my fears. It hadn’t occurred to My friend, but once I said it, it didn’t seem implausible to her either. But, we told ourselves that it was unlikely and that we should just carry on.

After all, since they weren’t doing anything particular, they would probably leave in some time, right?

They didn’t. Time went by - another 10 minutes, then another 10. We gave up all pretense of working. From time to time, one or two of the men would turn and glare at us. By now, my stomach was churning. What if they were just waiting for us to step out so that they could attack us? They weren’t carrying any sticks or other weapons, but from time to time, they would make calls on their cellphones. Were they recruiting a larger crowd? And in any case, 7 of them against 3 of us would be no fight. Even as I told myself that I was being absurd, part of me was petrified. It was now more than a half hour since they had been standing around, now openly looking at us.
We wondered if we should call the police or the Vanita Sahayavani, the helpline for women. But, what would we tell them? A bunch of guys on the road are glaring at us? Finally, I called my Guy Friends. As we waited for them to arrive, we wondered if the men would leave. More than 45 minutes since they had first landed there, they still didn’t.

Perhaps all of it was only in my head, and yet, something I felt I should have put to the test. Because, by leaving, I had given them (not these men specifically, since they may have been harmless, but the fundamentalist groups in general) one small victory. They had disrupted our work, made us wonder if we should have met elsewhere, wasted our time and taught us to fear. That is no mean achievement, isn’t it?


But trust me when I say those men were glaring at us… of course that by itself doesn’t make them goondas, but I bloody felt contaminated. It felt like I was standing in-front of them naked and ...well..anyways ..forget it.

The odds are that 1 in 3 women, across the globe, will be the victim of a rape or violence. That means out of you mother, wife/girlfriend, sister, daughter 1 will definitely be a victim and more than a chance of another as well. That’s not something that I would wish upon even my enemy.

This is not just an issue of what celebrities do. It’s not just something that happens in movies, or to “those people” whoever you wish to define it. It’s happening in every part of the globe, every day. And the chance of you knowing a woman that this has happened to is better than you remembering what will be on TV tonight.

We should never let this pass without thought. We should never allow this to be a secret. This needs to be addressed and confronted.


But Is it only when a celebrity endures a hardship that we care as a nation. Are we so cold-hearted as to ignore the suffering of millions of women simply because we don’t know their name or country. Has the media so blinded the masses that unless something happens to someone famous we don’t think it happens at all?

No man ever needs to place a hand against a woman. It’s just not needed. There is no justification unless you are in a pool of your own blood. It is the act of a coward and a small child to lash out in such a manner. It is the action of a weak and pitiful boy, never a man regardless of age.

Presently I am residing in Haryana, where if a 50 year old is out after 10 p.m., cops get on her case and insist she goes home or gets her 19 year old son to escort her .......

I attempted to argue and they said "You'll get raped and robbed"

Dammit! Even cops cant ensure safety. Thats like what the #$Z%^... can u ask them if some pevert really has weapons and is out to rape than how will a 19 year old son help??? and what the heck they are for????

I hope that before I die I never have to fear for my sisters, mother, and every woman I have ever known.


But that means that you have to act, and not forget this post or the articles in the news. Because tomorrow it could be a woman you love.

Tags: haryana, mother, sisters, cops, pavement, woman, raped, robbed, police, ensure, safety, delhi, rape, violence, globe, celebrities, nation, contaminated, staring, friend, men, glaring