21.7.05

q: what do you call street sexual harassment? people were asked to put their thumb impression. red- female/ blue- male Posted by Picasa

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm from NorthEast India, and I was in B'lore for almost 7 years in the 90s. I could consider it my second home, I guess. And yes, I faced a LOT of street harassment there, and NO, it wasn't because of the way I dressed, (mostly jeans and tshirt/kurta)...maybe partly also for the way I look ('chink') but mostly because even most 'decent' men think they can get away with it. At that time, I had a rosy view of the men here, that they aren't as 'desperate'... and now that I'm all grown up and back home, I realise there's harassment here too, only more covert. It's ALWAYS about the power, and for men who still think it's about sex and not power, wasn't it Henry Kissinger who said 'Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac'?
Superb work, Jasmeen. Maybe the next time I'm down at B'lore, I'll join you people.
Renee.

Anonymous said...

ooops, in mentioning the jeans/tshirt/kurta thing, I just realised I shot myself in the foot. What I meant to say was, even when a woman is dressed in jeans and tshirt/kurta, she still gets harassed, anyway. There, I hope I clarified myself there.

sanguine said...

way to go , jasmine . this issue needs to be addressed . you think it raging in metros , i am tellin you it is so rampant in small towns , that girls grow up thinkin it is a way of life.
i have been brought up in UP - allahabad , lucknow n thank god for a mom who told me to slap the man touches you at the wrong place , i am still one of the lucky few.
but what does one do abt the lecherous looks these perverts give. i wish i was taught to claw their bluddy eyes out too.

you are doing such a worthwhile job . congrats.
is there any way i can help ?

J said...

dear sanguine
thankyou for writing in and supporting the project.
within Blank Noise we are doing a project called " did you ask for it?", where I ask all those who experienced sexual threat, were violated on the street to send me what they were wearing at that point of time.
“When attacked on the streets the first thing we look at is our clothing. We question if we ‘provoked’ or ‘asked to be made victim’. The garment worn at that point of time contains a memory and is witness to an experience thus becoming a testimony.
Taking this notion forward, I wish to build testimonies through a gathering of clothes given by all those who have experienced sexual threat/ attack on the streets, and have at that point questioned if they asked for it.

it would be great if you and your friends could send in clothes to build this project.

thanking you
Jasmeen

J said...

looking forwar renee!!

hemangini said...

so. want my red top from years ago :-)

J said...

yes ofcourse!!! how u doing?!!

Unknown said...

Great post, I enjoyed reading it.

Adding you to favorites, Ill have to come back and read it again later.