I am African, but my skin tone is very light. Men here are inclined to harass these type of women (light-skinned) because we are seen as being “more attractive, and more desirable” than a dark-skinned woman (grossly untrue, but it’s how our society is framed to think). Even though it happens to me often, March 4th was way worse than the other days.
I had gone to shop for groceries, and I had to walk for about 20 minutes. I got harassed by at least 15 different men for that 20-minute walk! The harassment ranged from cat calls, my arms being stroked by strangers (very disgusting, I must say), men asking other men to stare at me… Others yelled across the streets asking if I could get pregnant. For those that felt really irked by me ignoring them, insults such as “stupid whore” were hurled at me. It was so mortifying, frustrating, and plain disgusting.
– KWA
Location: Nairobi, Kenya, along the streets
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.
