We are women, we live in TWENTY-EIGHTEEN!

I feel scared before leaving from my house alone, I feel insecure for mine own while walking on the footpath. Being a modern lady/girl I feel ashamed that I feel such things in the era of Two thousand eighteen, but I don’t feel ashamed of being a victim of such mind set; I didn’t tend to be one intentionally, but knowingly.

Even when I am a woman of open and transparent mind yet I feel apologetic and shameful because of these anti-social elements emerging aggressively day by day on streets, roads, in cabs, autos, in shops where I go, in my city or other, my school, my college, in a relative’s house, a neighbor’s house, on any floor of my building or anywhere else I walk, possibly in my own house.

I am supposed to be available to be a victim of their heinous activities in case I am out on the road or anywhere else whether in the day or any other time, I am meant to be.

I am a girl child of 0/1/2/3/4… years, I am a teenager of 13/14… years, I am a lady of 20/30/40/50…. years living the time of Twenty-eighteen.

Where I believe in the equation of equality, such people who reckon me as an object and exploit my body make me believe in discrimination equation. They make me presume that I need to be protected, whether or not I am independent.

It doesn’t matter if I am living in an age of open conversations, they still call me a slut if I indulge into a blatant discussion.

Doesn’t matter if it is 2018, I can’t wear skirt because it ignites them; they say so!
Well same does my saree and gown to them, but they never confessed so, nevertheless they committed the same crime.

They make me believe that this era is still of some other century of conservatism and don’t allow my mind to believe on the time.

I want to get rid of this,
I want to breathe,
I want to feel,
I want to enjoy the time I have.
Don’t hamper it,
don’t deprive me of living cheerfully,
willfully and happily,
I endured all this
because you hustled me into this,
you don’t own me to do this to me,
Why are you shielding these monsters and blaming me?

#रshmi

I used word “I” collectively for women. ‘I’ denotes ‘Us’.

PS: I wrote this piece in 2015, today when I looked back I realized nothing has changed favorably. In fact, worsened by time and I replaced fifteen with eighteen. Let’s unite to create a better nation by creating better mentalities (nowhere outside, but inside our brains), everything positive starts with/from one’s own self. Burning the streets to fumes will neither bring back the gone nor will free the criminals, but our positive actions and minds can save another from going. I wish, someday I would see India to be a nation of humans and not of communal goons. I suppose, we can collectively create one.