Damsels in distress, courtesy road romeos

PATNA: Cases of harassment and abuse against women in the city are nothing new. What is new is that an increasingly growing number of girls are coming out to report such incidents and fight back.
Pragya Dubey, a student of Patna University, said, "While I was hanging out one day with my friends at Maurya Lok in the evening, a middle-aged man came and said, "Arey beta tumhare papa kaise hain?" When I failed to identify him, all of a sudden he grabbed my hand and before I could react, he ran away."It was so quick and shocking that I couldn't even react," she added.
Girls are increasingly facing abuse on roads and public places, both verbal or physical. Incidents of unknown people either trying to talk, gesture, or pass livid comments have seen a phenomenal rise in the city.
Road Romeos seem to be getting innovative day by day as far as use of abusive words are concerned. One liners like "I Love you darling" are thrown at girls every other second.
Public transports are a nightmare! Divya, a college student, has jitters before she steps out to catch an auto. Narrating an incident she said, "Once a middle-aged man seated next to me in an auto misbehaved. When I reacted, he silently gestured me to keep quiet. Even more surprising was the reaction of the auto driver. When I complained, instead of rebuking the man, the driver instead asked me to leave."
A few days back, while Kavita was waiting at the traffic signal near Dak Bungalow on her Scooty, two guys on bike came beside her and started making inappropriate comments. And when the traffic gave way, the one sitting at the back gestured at her indecently and whizzed past. "I wonder why police cannot see such things?" She asks.
Another shameful experience was shared by Mona Tiwari, a techie in a private firm. During an interview, demeaning questions like 'Do people find you desirable?', 'Do you have a boyfriend?' and 'Is marriage on your plans?' were hurled at her. While some girls fail to get jobs in such cases, others like Preeti Singh, now employed with a media house, fail to be promoted for rejecting the bosses' advances.
Sharda Vidhi, a schoolteacher, feels uneasy every morning she walks to the bus stop at 6am. "I always get shivers down my spine when I find any person walking behind me," said Vidhi, a resident of Buddha Colony.
"Incidents like these tend to haunt and fail to fade from one's memory. Guys should realize we are also human beings," quipped Minakshi Prasad, ruing her lot. A budding lawyer, Prasad has decided to move out of the city as soon as possible.