Let Colours Soar High This Holi, Not Crime
Under the pretext of the line ‘Bura mat mano Holi hai’, women across the country and being subjected to various wrong doings and non-consensual acts. Holi is the festival of colours where people come together to mark the end of winters. To celebrate the onset of spring and the victory of good over evil.
Last year, women in Delhi hostels were restrained from leaving, due to the growing number of sexual harassment cases. This year, a Delhi University college student decided to share on Instagram the menace she faced and found unbelievable.
In her Instagram post on February 24, the girl, who is from the northeast, said, “I went out with a friend for lunch to a cafe in Amar Colony Market. At around five when heading back in a rickshaw there came flying my way a liquid-filled balloon hitting me in the hip where it burst open, its content seeping into my dress.
“It dried white on my black leggings… I did not guess what it really was. Only when I returned to my hostel to hear another friend of mine talking about semen-flinging,” she said.
“Not a single person in that busy market batted a single eyelid at the sight of men throwing such balloons. Ever since in moved to this city seven months ago, I ‘ve been bumped by more than once by men,” she said in the post.
“All accidentally, of course. Hands have patted on me inappropriately,” she said adding that she has also been called derogatory names.
“The perversity and frequency of these attacks on our friends and classmates during the weeks leading up to Holi should not be normalised. We are all disturbed, angry and frustrated at this repeated harassment,” her post read.
It is saddening to see women being banned from festivities due to hooliganism, continuous groping and being drenched extensively. Holi was played to celebrate the victory of good over evil, when Pralhad prayed to Lord Vishnu and in turn saw Holika burn to ashes on the pyre. As individuals, we should aim to encourage the good in us, for the ones around us and collectively address this growing menace in society.
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The CSR Journal Team
