I dont brand myself as a feminist as I am not in favour of the whole equal treatment aspect. Quoting a friend of mine, I dont campaign for EQUAL rights because biologically were all fundamentally different and with different capabilities. I campaign for FAIR rights and justice. There are radical feminists, just like religious fanatics and macho men with the emotional range of a teaspoon. This is what most of you fail to understand.I realized that a majority does not comprehend the basis of our #streetHarassementHurts campaign. Therefore Ive tried my best to put everything in a nutshell Its unfair to put us into the same caliber as radical feminists. It’s not like weve held up posters protesting against cooking or child bearing. Lol. We are a group that stands against any form of harassment both men and women undergo in their day to day lives. However right now our priority is to stand up against the harassment one must put up with on streets. To be frank, I’m scared to go out after 7 pm. I hate travelling in public transportation and I think twice before I wear something that shows off my shoulders. WHY? Recently I saw an image which was taken in the 70’s where a group of women were dressed in Miniskirts, buying goods at a daily ‘pola’. How did we go from that to an era where we can’t even walk down the road in a school uniform? How did we reach this place where it’s alright to catcall a woman but if she reacts to it negatively, she is a slut who has no sense of humour? Know the difference of ‘oya lassanai’ and ‘lewakanna hithenawa’. I live in a society where men believe that women enjoy been harassed. Especially on a bus. In Sinhalese it’s called Jack gahanawa. You have no idea what kind of a psychological effect, these kind of abysmal, third grade actions, have upon us. I am not trying to be a FB hero. None of us are. Most of us are university students, journalists, counsellors, teachers and lawyers. We are not ‘some jobless lot’ that seeks cheap attention. We are socially active and we do try to make a change, outside facebook. WHY we decided to create such posters is because Social media is influential. The incident which took place in wariyapola wouldn’t have had the same impact if it wasn’t for social media. SO WHY NOT? Why not create awareness through such a powerful tool? In fact the messages I received are solid proof to the fact that what we do actually have a strong impact. Every Tom Dick and Harry is on FB these days. This is just the first step. One of my best friends is a rape victim. She was in her school uniform when she was kidnapped and in broad daylight. It starts from a simple ‘joke’. When we tolerate it, it grows into a hefty web that cannot be eradicated. I do not know our future but I do know that we are not going to be one of those temporary facebook movements. -Chithru de Silva
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 13:27:56 +0000
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