Let's Talk About Sexual Harassment

While the fight against patriarchy is a long-drawn battle, what makes one hopeful is the support that poured in for Shubh Laxmi and the opening up of the discussion on sexual harassment and related issues

- Parvin Sultana

Shubh Laxmi, a young college-going girl of Jorhat, had put up a Facebook post about the harassment that she faces regularly on her way to and from college. In graphic details, the short status update in Assamese expressed what she faced in the hands of some bikers. According to the post, these speeding bikers would try to grab her and use abusive comments. Her experience was such that she decided not to step out after dark. She spoke knowing the slur that it would invite, the character assassination that would follow. While her post was shared more than a few thousand times, the slurs, the accusations also followed.

The Problematic Denial

The Transport Minister of Assam, Mr Chandramohan Patowary while commenting on the issue in the Assembly, categorically pointed out that the girl belonged to the Students’ Federation of India and this was nothing but the hooliganism of ‘so-called’ progressive youths.

This statement was criticized widely. However, this is also an attitude that will find resonance in many corners. Many dismissed her anxious outcry as dramatic, childish, or a conspiracy to malign the government. The irony is that all women have faced such harassment in some way or the other.