Not alone, still Raped.

And then one gloomy shatter day, the maniac creatures gathered between the hazy lights, and she got raped beside the pavement amongst the city lights.

I could very well imagine the above headlines in tomorrow's newspaper and I hurried home with a quickened pace. I rescued myself from being a victim of rape today but could very well be one of those in the near future, as per the current scenario of our country. Maybe in the future, I could be encountered with one of such heinous acts, who knows?

Hello, scared women of our nation!

I honestly feel no pleasure in typing this but my emotions are raging upon listening to the heights reached by these lustful misogynist maniacs in our country. Do we still need men to protect our sanctity, who are in turn responsible for swallowing it whole? Men have proved to not understand the meaning of the word consent, let alone acknowledge it. If someone's sister is unsafe because of a man, then his sister will be unsafe because of someone else too. Nowadays many women are unsafe in their own homes too, at least I have that privilege. But the fear and threat of sexual assault or molestation starts looming over me the moment I step out of my house. They say women shouldn't dress up like "sluts" if they want to avoid being raped. But she was raped in a saree! She was raped in a burqa! She was raped in a school uniform! She was even raped in a diaper! They say women shouldn't step out at improper hours. But, she was raped at midnight! She was raped at noon! She was raped at dusk and dawn! Morning or evening, none were spared. The fault lies neither in the dress up nor the time, the fault lies in the rapists. Their outlook is at fault! Their gaze is at fault! These are the same people who have pledged every day throughout their school lives that they would treat every female as their sister in their mind's eye. For those who rape and molest in the name of manhood, is that what you call 'Manhood'? Rather, it is cowardice hiding under the veil of manhood. Manhood doesn't just represent people born with penises and in possession of some extra physical potential compared to members of the fairer sex. Looking up to people upholding such toxic patriarchy for protection is just ridiculous. Instead, we must take much of the responsibility of our protection upon our own shoulders too. This doesn't mean all men are the same or that we shouldn't depend even a bit upon them for our protection. All she demands is safety. All she wants is a scenario lacking fear not constantly looking behind her shoulder in fear of sexual assault or molestation. Safety in the street, safety in the taxi, safety while doing overtime at her workplace. Call it want, call it request or call it demand; it is all we want and it is all we need.