This is not a new incident for any girl who goes to public places or uses public transport
KARACHI: ‘Masha Allah’, a stranger whispered while I was walking through a supermarket corridor and before I could react he disappeared.
It was the second time in a week. I could have slapped the guy with utmost force and give him a lesson to think thousand times before doing this to anyone else. But even if I had figured out it right then what could I do? Shout? Make noise? Slap him? Really? Eventually a crowd will gather and will either make me realise I should leave the matter or will tell me that I have misheard the remark.
This is not a new incident for any girl who goes to public places or uses public transport. For me the street harassment has been a constant phenomenon since I stepped out of home. I never dress inappropriately. I wear a hijab since school days, wear zero makeup in public places even then? What’s the problem with these men? What sort of satisfaction these sick minds find making such remarks? This is so common in our society that we don’t even think of it as a problem. Maybe it has been ‘normalised’?
Why women have to suffer all this? While buying groceries or waiting for a bus/rickshaw, why do women have to feel like a prey to these losers? Isn’t it our right to do our chores with peace of mind? It’s time to get rid of this male habit!
Masooma Fatima Rizvi
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2018.
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