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‘A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself’

Are we safe?

Krishalni Mudaliar, Lautoka

I went outside of my university for a few hours and while returning, something happened that made me question about my safety as a woman.

It was raining and I was walking with my umbrella on the roadside when the traffic light turned red and a school bus stopped near me.

I turn my head towards the bus and I see two teenage boys teasing me from inside the bus. The bus was full and these boys were standing near the door, throwing kisses at me and winking at me making me feel uncomfortable. If that is not enough, I enter my university and see a group of boys who are standing near the crossing and talking about sexual things. I walk past them and one of them yells, “Just hear what you guys are talking about?” however, they all laugh and repeatedly talk about the same thing while I’m crossing.

By now I am probably six or seven metres away from them and I hear them whistling at me.

They continued to whistle hoping that I would turn back but I didn’t.

I was already feeling uncomfortable from what had happened while walking on the road and this incident in the university just added fear.

So, I as a female, cannot feel safe while walking on the road, now I cannot feel safe inside the university too?

What happened recently took me back to the time when I was in high school.

I was in Year 9 and a boy from another form had a crush on me. I did not know about his feelings then but I would always see him in my school bus and he would always get off wherever I did.

One day I found out about where he actually lived and found out about his feelings. That is the time when I started noticing that he was following me. During recess, lunch and in the afternoon when I went home.

I got so scared that I had to tell my father about it and he had to come to my school and complain to the vice principal about this boy.

Later on he got so obsessed that he started writing me letters and threatened that he would slash his wrists.

I was only in Year 9 but I did not feel safe with my peers.

So, I ask you, when will we feel safe? We cannot stay at home alone or stay with any male in the house.

We cannot walk in groups or walk alone even during the day.

Now we cannot even walk around in the universities without some boys passing comments or acting weird.

When such small incidents arising it’s the society which does not hesitate to say, “Oh, boys are just being boys”.

No! Such small incidents lead to bigger and worse incidents like rape and molestations.

Giving them a pass just by saying “they’re just being boys” or “at least they didn’t touch you” should stop because what the society fails to realise is that while they are allowing boys to be “boys”, they are making girls feel unsafe.

When will this stop? When will boys, and men alike, realise that it’s not okay to stare at girls or women or pass comments at them?

When will they realise that whistling at girls and teasing girls only shows us how worse of a person they are? Girls are already facing pressure from the society about their choice of lifestyle and now we have to face this too.

Can the society and boys especially, stop treating us as if we are some kind of a trophy? We are also human beings, we’re not an object!

Dress code Wise Muavono, Lautoka

News presenters should always dress attractive and formal thus maintaining a professional decorum.

Refrain from wearing a hibiscus in your hair when presenting the Sunday news. It is not a beauty pageant.