मैंने क्या किया?

मैंने क्या किया?
एक दिन कैसे जिया?
आप ही कहिए?
मैंने क्या किया?

अकेले थी!
ये गलती है?

अकेले सोई थी,
ये कोई दावत थी?

सामान हूँ?
कोई पकवान हूँ?

ट्रेन कोई बाज़ार है?
मीट की दुकान
और मैं?
लेटी-लटकी हुई,
लेग-पीस, लज़ीज़?

बात मेरी है, पर सिर्फ मेरी नहीं,
#metoo

समाज़, संस्कृती, सरकार नीति,
नियति बताती है क्या नीयत थी!!

सवाल है सबसे,
आपने कैसे पाले है?
इस महान संस्कृति से
ये कैसे मर्द निकाले हैं?
क्या ख़ुराक है इनकी,
और कैसे निवाले हैं?

क्या है उपाय?
क्या राज़ी तंग हो जाऊं,
या एक पिंजरा लूं ओ बंद हो जाऊं?

नहीं हैं ये विकल्प मेरे,
मेरे पंख हैं बहुतेरे,
उड़ना मेरे लिए मुश्किल नहीं!

कितने पर काटेंगे?

कितनी बार?

(एक नज़दीकी के साथ ट्रेन में जब वो सो रहीं थी एक मर्द ने छेड़खानी की, गलत तरीके से छुआ, अपने शरीर के अंगों को प्रदर्शन किया! ये कोई खास बात नहीं है, आम बात है।पर उसके बाद क्या हुआ अक्सर नहीं होता। नीचे लिखा पढ़िए जरूर।)

(*trigger warning- case of sexual harrassment* #metoo 

I was travelling from Hyderabad to Bangalore last night, when a man sexually harrassed me by touching me inappropriately when I was sleeping and later, flashing his genitals. I immediately saught help from my co-passengers, confronted him in presence of a group of people I had woken up, contacted the railway police and the ticket collector. 

A few important things jump to my notice as I went through the process of registering an FIR (which is underway in Anantpur railway station and I shall hopefully get a receipt soon). 

1. The railway police were reluctant to register a complaint and it took a lot of assertion to finally get the complaint registered. "Please leave him, his life will be affected", is what the police officers kept saying on board. They called me a few times on phone as well after getting off with the abuser, and apologizing to me on his behalf. I also got a call from supposedly the abusers father asking me to have mercy on his son. After I demanded an explanation on how he got my number, the "father" never called again. I escalated the case further up by calling the inspectors and meeting them when I got down at Yeshwantpur. And the process of registering the complaint was taken seriously. So, I got a small taste of how hard it is for people, especially those on margins of power, to get a complaint registered. 

2. The Police really need to have special phone numbers that make it clear that the call is from the police. I got so many calls from generic mobile numbers that it was tricky to identify whether they were indeed police. 

3. Even as I am determined to follow up on the case on grounds of principles, I felt a keen sense of how this problem is not limited to the individual harrasser, who is merely 22 years old, is a product of the culture of tolerance towards sexual harrassment and the deeply ingrained view of women as sexual objects. 

4. I am very grateful to the people (one kind young man and a fierce middle-aged woman), who stood by me through the ordeal. We need to collectively stand up strongly, if we want the system to improve. I am very grateful to the man who has agreed to be a witness and extended full support. Parents- do not merely protect your daughters, raise them to be strong and raise your sons such that they can learn to give full respect and autonomy to women as equals.  

5. Will be posting updates about this case. Would appreciate any legal advice or support in personal message, kindly bear with me if I am not able to respond to each message.)