In recent years, it seems that many women have awakened from their conditions and are willing to speak up about the inequalities and horrendous experiences they have to face as women. It surely had an impact on children and youth as well. More and more girls recognize the underlying pattern and want to evoke change in their communities. I’m sure that every girl has had been harassed in one point of their life. It often begins with little remarks and turns into more traumatising experiences.
India, a country with so much culture and beauty and yet known for its high percentage of sexual assault and harassment against girls and women, exemplifies again with the incident on the 8th of October that more work has to be done concerning rape culture and sexual harassment. In Triveniganji, close to the city of Patna, a group of young schoolgirls were playing on the field on Saturday night. Then a group of teenage boys started to make insulting remarks towards the girls. The girls argued back and even some defended themselves physically when ‘a group of boys and parents returned with bamboo sticks and iron rods’ according to the article. The girls had been hurt so violently that they had to be admitted to hospital.
These girls were just between 10 and 14. They could have been your sister, daughter, friend or the girl who sat next to you in school. Although this event happened in India, this story reminds us that girls and women don’t always feel safe in their own countries or environment. Imagine you’ve been harassed at school and even cannot escape from these experiences when you’re playing outside?
But I believe that this problem can be resolved if we take a closer look at the anxieties of today’s world. I find it great that more and more women speak up and want to empower other girls and women. However, we also have to empower boys and men as well. We’re moving towards a more matriarchal society and men feel the change and don’t know how to act. So it is necessary that we create a dialogue for boys, girls, and non-binary individuals. One might ask why do these things happen? Why do more men harm women than women harm men? It is quite simple. Boys and men who hurt women, who sexually harass them, who rape them, they have experienced violence themselves and nobody in their life showed them how to deal with anger and problems. Not only women but also men have to speak up and support each other.
For every boy who reads this article, I urge you to support the girls and women in your life. To finally open your eyes and even ask for help. Take action and make a difference in the world. Because this cannot go on, it has to stop. We need your support and society doesn’t change if we blame people for the events that happen in the world. We have to provide spaces where people can interact and find solutions. Together.
Link to the article:
Sources for images: