This incident deeply hurt me. It made me realise how small girls are abused and humiliated in buses and how they become the easy targets of male chauvinists. I was waiting for bus after my Tally class which I attend once in a blue moon. A 12 year old girl boarded the bus and was searching her purse vigorously for coins. Unable to find it, she gave a 50 rupee note to the conductor which he refused to take. She waited for sometime for more people to board the bus so that she could get her change. But the conductor refused to give her the ticket and asked her to get out of the bus. By then, many people have boarded the bus and he surely had enough money to give the girl.
I was unable to bear the public humiliation of that little girl, so I paid her fare. While thanking me I saw her big eyes filled with tears. May be the conductor was trying to thieve from the girl because after such a treatment she was willing to give the money as long as she gets the ticket. She was happy to get out of the bus and I could clearly imagine how that 15-minute travel in the bus with such humiliation should have made her feel. This is an instance of how small girls like her are teased .What made me feel even bad was that everybody stood as mute spectators to this incident. Why is it that when women are abused or humiliated, no one seems to be concerned about it? Even if they don't fight back they can try to save them in some possible way. Even conductors, who see numerous cases of women being abused, never lift their finger but instead join the abusers. Is this how it's always going to be?
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT