No place is safe for girls today. Everyday, a number of women are caught unaware by men who follow and hover around them for long periods of time before actually making a move.
In such scary situations, women are the only ones who seem to have each others backs. A few women from the city give us an insight on the new girl code they have formulated and follow!
Befriending and helping another woman when she’s in need is something all women should follow. “Once, I got off the last metro ride for the night and walked out as I only lived couple of minutes away. Suddenly, I felt a woman’s hand touch my arm. ‘That guy behind us is following you, he watched you all the way on the train and got off when you did’ she said. I hadn’t noticed him but we stopped for a minute beside a brightly lit hotel and noticed that he stopped and loitered around us. I was freaking out because I didn’t want him to know where I lived. The woman linked her arm through mine, accompanied me to my apartment, made sure I got in safe and then got into a cab and left. I don’t know who she was but I am so thankful for what she did,” recalls Meena, a call centre employee.
As weird as it sounds, being offered protection by another woman is more impactful because we know what it’s like to constantly be victimised.
“I was reading at a park one evening when a man came over and said hello. He tried to make small talk but I got a bad feeling from him because he kept touching my arm and shoulder, so I stood up to leave. He walked a few steps with me before we were interrupted by a mother and her son. She told me she was suspicious of his intentions and asked if we could walk to our vehicles together. I waited till she gathered her sons toys and all this time, the man stood watching us. When we started to leave, he followed us until we got on our vehicles and left,” says Prachi Reddy, a photographer.
Being armed is just not enough these days. Despite having training in self-defence, Sheetal, a 22-year-old student felt protected because of the gesture of another woman.
“I was waiting for an auto on a dimly lit area of MG Road recently. It had just rained and I had to wait for quite some time. ‘The man behind you has been eyeing you and is getting closer by the minute. Please stand under the light’ a girl standing at a distance walked up to me and said. I moved closer to her, slightly dazed. The man had brushed against my backside once, but I thought it was a mistake. When her ride came to pick her up sometime later, she still waited till I got an auto” says Sheetal Prakash.
“That’s when I realised how much women need each other,” concludes the 22 year old student from the city.
