BLANK NOISE PROJECT -- TIME TO THINK

This one's got me thinking all over again. Well, In which direction is "MAN"kind moving??? Just have a peep into the "BLANK NOISE PROJECT" -- a sincere attempt to fight vocally against "Street Sexual Harassment". I was startled reading first hand accounts of women sexually harassed and assaulted on the streets. Never before have I come across or heard about such ghastly incidents, things looked highly difficult to digest. I even ended up commenting Deepthi's post -- that was the first post I read on the Project -- as being highly exaggerated. I never knew the intensity of the situation. I am sorry for that, sorry for my ignorance. But then I have been browsing through various other bloggers' personal experiences and man, they scare the shit out of me. I am slowly beginning to realize the truth. Sexual harassment exists almost everywhere -- at the workplace, at the bus-stop, at the canteen, at the college, at home too in certain cases......................... I was just ignorant all the time. Every woman has her own story -- stories (Go through Mang's Post) suits better. No woman is spared. It becomes quite obvious once you go through the comments on various blogs that almost all women have faced such situations -- guys poking fun at their private parts, calling them names, groping and snatching at the breasts and what not!!! It gives me jitters just having to type this stuff out.

"Is being born a woman a CURSE???"

"What is it you guys have with breasts and butts???"

"What would be your reaction if someone fondled your SISTER'S BREASTS???"

" Just put yourself in my place and you will understand that speaking a word during such time is almost impossible!!!"

"Is having a body endowed with breasts something to be ashamed of???"

"Can't you understand you are making life miserable for WOMEN with your dastardly deeds???"

"Why cant we as women be respected? Are men really so deprived?......"

Well, the emotional distress people have been under shows. Such hard hitting questions just keep on knocking the wind out of my sails. Once you browse through the various posts in the blog-a-thon of the PROJECT..... There are currently around 70 contributors to the cause -- you can find a varied range of emotions and lurking questions hitting you hardly across the face. What answers have you got for each one of the questions posed??? Well,it's time to think for yourself!!! Going through Mumbaigirl's post got me wondering as to what kind of incidents my family members and friends of the opposite sex had to go through. They have never told me about any such incidents. Maybe, They never will. Now, I am worried about their security, their privacy..... Where have the ethics and the moral etiquette gone??? It' s high time insinuated men leave their wicked ways and let women lead a secure life without these road blocks. One needs to understand there is lot more to life than breasts and buttocks.

One may ask -- What's the use having this Blog-a-thon session???
An excerpt from KnownTurf's Post gives you the perfect answer. "How do you know? Some teenaged boy somewhere reads this and decides not to molest women... you never know." People ignorant of these facts get a real insight into life -- how difficult it is for a woman to be there out in the public, to board a passenger bus/ train, to go somewhere in an auto in the night...........
Deepti says, "I hope the girls who read this post of mine gain the courage to be brave themselves and know they are not alone. I hope the guys who read this know to not just never harass but also spread the message and get the same attitude grilled into their friends.And I hope that everyone who reads it understands that even young children are susceptible to being harassed and get easily traumatised by it.So keep an eye on them for such signs of withdrawal and educate them when they are still very young about what they need to watch out for."
Yes, this blog-a-thon is for the girls to voice out their trauma, share their feelings with others -- keeping things to oneself can prove so fatally depressing. Girls also do get to know that they are not alone in their sufferings. Gain Strength from the fact that you have seen lot of support from the male community as well. It's quite clear that you will have lots of support if you can report things happening to you. Just raise a hue and cry if someone makes a lewd pass or comment or something untoward happens and I am sure the people there will look into the rest. Do not control your emotions staying quiet... you will only be giving him the licence to grope you further by doing this.

Seems I am not good at this stuff and I have spoken enough. I have been trying for the past half an hour to voice my emotions and All I am trying to do out here is make my small little contribution to Blank Noise Project. Kudos to the brains behind the Blank Noise Project. There's a lot more work to be done though before this evil can be uprooted. Atleast, you have got quite a few heads speaking and thinking -- The number of comments on each post is proof enough that you have got many people expressing their anger and concern. And that's the best part.