How safe is public transit for women in Guwahati? While the public transport system in Guwahati isn’t something that one will be proud of, surge in abuse – be it the leering looks or offensive gestures to unwanted touching – has made city buses unfriendly for the public.
In a Facebook post, Guwahati-resident Priyakshi Goswami shared one of her experience in dealing with a middle-aged person who couldn’t but keep off his eyes. At a time when the nation is fighting against gender abuse, especially after what happened in Bengaluru on the New Year’s night, the incident highlighted by Priyakshi Goswami is yet another shocker.
Writing about her plight, Priyakshi says, “I am trying to make this ‘uncle’ famous. He is one of those many great men who would grope women, ogle at them or ‘accidentally’ rub their bodies against a woman’s specific body parts in public. This particular man in the front row, who would easily be the age of my parents’, made sure he leans way too much to have his face right on my breasts when I was about to get off the bus. And no, it was no accident. When I shoved away his head with my hand and questioned him, he denied and even hit me in the eye and swore to punch me in the face. I was alone and with other people only staring, I did as much as I could.”
“Girls, kindly raise your voices (or even a hand, if needed) against such molestation cases. We face it almost every day and it’s time we stop ignoring such ‘small issues’. And in general, people kindly cooperate with anyone facing such situations in public. And yes, I am 100% sure about the above case, or I wouldn’t have taken this step,” she signs off.
The post was shared more than 240 times of the social network leading to many angry comments.
Here’s the full post:
