I feel safer in US than in India: An Indian Girl

A common horrific face of Indian society

I didn't get shocked reading an article on an international portal (CNN about an American student who felt trashed in her 3 months of experience in India), but certainly feel ashamed and felt sluggish and fragile after reading the whole incidents. The popular portal shared the experience of an American woman who comes to study in India for 3 months. After she returns back home she finds that she is suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Just to summarize, the woman was unable to accept the fact happened to her and could not move on. Although by now she knows that it has become a common practice there and this prevails all across India since years.  

She could not face some Indian men who used to stare her while she is on streets, who used to grope her and claw at her breasts and groins. Eventually she was suffering from mental stress disorder PTSD. The situation in India is pathetic and the events which are part of it ranges from a smaller events of men stalking at woman walking on the street to biggest, cruelest and pettiest events like gang rape (happening not only Delhi but all over India).

Today it is "Rakshabandhan". This festival represents the event when a brother and sister are tied into a mutual relationship of protection and love. After reading this article, I want to ask one question to all the brothers - When a man is staring or scanning a woman, isn't she a sister for some other guy? When you are stalking on some woman on street remember there are other males who are also scanning your sister.

I have been staying in India since 22 years before I came to USA. But I became an adult and was aware of such situation just couple of years back. I still remember my first experience of being part of this gross fact of India when I was 15. I was travelling with my mom in a very crowded bus. I was standing in the middle of the crowded and just before my stop, I realized a guy touching my private parts behind. I looked behind and there was the no one confronting and like unaware of anything happened, the whole crowd was standing behind clueless. I was not sure who did it. After I got down, I told my mom and I was very embarrassed. But my mom said, “Beta, this is how it is. You will have to learn to protect yourself. There will be men staring at you when you are on roads. You just have to ignore that. Be strong and don’t start fighting or arguing with such people”. I was shocked to hear this. I have heard of cases where a girl tries to shout out loud or slap a guy in front of everyone. This guy will then rape that female to take his revenge. He will not realize that he is ruining her life. This is why some women are scared of arguing or fighting with such guys.

When a girl is raped, the whole Indian society looks at that girl as if she wanted to have sex in public or as if she is some kind of trash. But nobody will think that the sin was put into action by a man, she is the victim of today’s truth of India.

India is progressing after independence. True! But we females still don’t have independence. It is still a male chauvinist, male dominant society where a husband is accepted as God by his wife, where sons are given more priority than daughters. WHY? Did God do such partiality while creating humans? In fact, I would say God loved their daughters more and made them beautiful. God gave males power, is that power or masculinity just to rape women?

After moving to USA, I have felt the difference between American culture and Indian culture. Here people do go out for late night parties and people do have one night stands. But it is their culture and we are nobody to comment on that and then brag about our culture. What is so great about our culture? I agree that we do respect elders, we have concept of family. But still in our culture males don’t respect women. For them women are just sex machine wherein they can get satisfied. When such rape cases happen in India, the society blames the western culture.  They blame the victim girl to be wearing revealing cloths. When I walk on the streets here in USA, some females here even wear bikini in summer, but there is not a single male staring or scanning such women. Even in bus or trains, they allow women to board bus/train first. They allow them to sit first. I feel so much respected. I totally love this country and I don't hesitant to say that "I feel safer in US than in India". Sorry if someone back in India gets offended, but I don’t get that patriotic feeling from my heart after observing all this.

India needs to change many things residing in it. Corruption, economy and male chauvinism all this should change, otherwise the dream of India to become the super power will remain far-fetched.

Author: Kosha Shah( Student in USA).