You’re not alone out there, says ‘Not Your Nangi’
was walking home when a guy driving a tuk, asked me for directions. Just as I was directing him, he unzipped his pants and said ‘ meka onedha?’ (Do you want this?). I broke into tears and ran home.
Age 13”.
...........
This is one of the many shocking stories shared by ‘Not Your Nangi,’ a social media movement aimed at empowering women, whilst also combatting sexual violence faced by women in Sri Lanka.
Since launching in April this year, its Instagram page has gone on to receive 3,021 followers, while its Facebook page had received 465 likes. This week we got the chance to speak to ‘Not Your Nangi’ founder Nabeela Yaseen, who had remained anonymous up until now.
Nabeela had always been eager to create awareness and take a stand against sexual violence. This is what led her to start ‘Not Your Nangi’.
Just like what most women face, there have been instances where Nabeela couldn’t walk on the road without drawing a sleazy look, an unruly whistle or a desperate pickup attempt.
“At times when my friend and I walk on the road, we get catcalls,” Nabeela says. In one instance, things had escalated to the point where both of them had to get off a trishaw because the driver was acting rather odd, only to be still followed by him and all this in broad daylight.
“I didn’t know the depth of the situation, until I started the page,” she says adding that half the sto- ries she received are yet to be published. These stories leave Nabeela at a loss for words. “Just knowing that women go through this battle every day leaves me dumbstruck,” she explains adding that it is disheartening that some women have to go through it simply because they don’t have another alternative, like having to use public transport for instance.
Thereby ‘Not Your Nangi’ isn’t just based on a personal experience. Rather it’s more of a realization that sexual violence is something that happens on a much larger scale than we believe, to women in general. A majority of the stories which Nabeela receives, happen on public transport. She however stresses that harassment is not simply limited to this or the streets, rather it could take place at your workplace
Nabeela’s goal is to empower women to rise above the problem, because no matter how much you speak against it, the reality is still quite scary.