It has been over seven decades since our independence, yet freedom from fear is still a Utopian concept for many Indians.
While the country is free from foreign rule, we still wrestle domestic demons. Today, Puneites speak out against the nightmare that is harassment, cyber stalking and fending off lewd advances..
“I think a lot of men don’t realise how a small instance of eve-teasing can thoroughly rattle you,” confesses Bindu Mahajan (39), a city-based educator. “Whether it is getting smacked in the rear on a crowded MG road or watching a sleazy coward pout at you and touch his genitals around midnight in Koregaon Park. Both these instances have happened to me and have left me shaking not in anger, but in fright!”
Shweta Arora (41), a physiotherapist tries to get to the root of the issue. “The problem is there’s no accountability. In many cases we can see the culprit, but we prefer distancing ourselves from the situation rather than striding up to the wily goon and handing him over to the cops for lewd gestures and harassment.”
Clearly Pune is no stranger to blatant harassment in public and instances of eve-teasing. But the digital age has introduced a host of new avenues for our societal scum.
Sanika Jaiswal (17), talks about gen next issues like cyber stalking. “Almost every one of my classmates knows what it is like to have someone stalk or abuse them via email or Facebook. What is shocking is, that it is accepted today as something that happens to everyone at a certain point. ‘It happens, get over it!’ they tell you,” she says furiously.
Vania Mridha (29) is an HR manager who shares her saga. “Six months ago, a man sent me a friend request on Facebook, which I declined. He then messaged me describing the despicable things he wanted to do to me. The heinous nature of his words essentially amounted to verbal rape. The worst part is that he said he’s been watching me and plans to realize his twisted fantasies one day,” she shudders.
Fake profiles and the anonymity of the internet is clearly a virtual playground for aspiring stalkers. Extremely personal and thoroughly harrowing, these attacks on women must stop.
Section 66A(b) of the Information Technology Act 2000 aims to penalize impersonators and online stalkers and Section 354A of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 exists to persecute those who sexually harass women.
However, neither liberate women from the menace of public attackers and those donning the virtual shroud of anonymity. Alas, freedom from harassment remains a dream to many.
This Independence Day, lets vow to make Pune a little safer for every woman resident. What freedom can we celebrate bereft of the guarantee of the fundamental right of safety?
This is the essence and ethos of The #Pune365Freedom17 special issue.
#All views expressed in this column are of the individual respondents and the author curating them. All names changed to protect individual privacy.
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