I wanna share something with Stop Street Harassment. I started following your page recently and in the past months I have also been an active feminist. There have been hundreds of times I have faced street harassment, I have been stared, touched, whistled and commented on badly and I never had the courage to do something about it. I live with a very conservative, misogynist family whom I broke ties with a few months back, the time I started doing my duties as a feminist.
After a very tough day on 15th April when I was climbing the stairs of the pedestrian’s bridge, this guy (he was young) touched my hip from behind and tried walking past me. Believe me, I have never had the courage before to do anything about it but to sit and be disgusted at myself. But that night I actually slapped the guy’s back really hard and screamed ‘Beghairat’ (it’s Urdu for ‘Shameless’ but is a negative word).
I was surprised at my courage and I have nothing but identifying myself as a feminist and your page to thank for. Maybe subconsciously but your message reached out to me. I did something about street harassment. After all these years, I finally did it tonight. I took a stand.
Thank you, so, so much! I don’t only feel more confident on the street now I also plan ahead if I see someone suspicious.
– A. Siddiqui
Location: Karachi, Pakistan
