What do You do??

Rape.
Is an ugly word... An uglier experience...

It takes away something from you.. Your innocence? Your trust? Your belief in the world? A hope for goodness prevailing..?
It leaves something behind..
Mistrust..? Cynicism..? Despair..?

And so it happens again.. In Delhi.. And we all know the routine.. Outrage. Sparks will fly.. Parliamentary tables will be thumped.. Candlelight vigils and marches.. Aah those, yes.. And then a lull. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

What do you do when you go out of your homes, with plans to meet friends, shop, catch a movie, eat out?? I'll tell you what I do. I expect the worst. I don't expect to come back home safe n sound. I leave amidst apprehensions and dire predictions of calamities that Would befall me. N that changes everything for me.

I walk on the street with my fist clenched tight, so that I get a split-second advantage over anyone who would attack me. I'm prepared. I'm wary of every vehicle that passes by me. I leave a wide berth between myself and that car that's innocently parked on the street...

I suspect every man who walks by me or with me or behind me... I rehearse defense moves in my head, the ones that I've seen countless times in movies... Hoping that when the time comes, at least One such move will make all the difference..

I do not trust that autorickshaw driver who is parked by the side of the road... He could take me to an isolated spot n rape me... I do not trust the guard who stands outside movie theaters... He could use any pretense of getting near me and rape me... I do not trust that policeman who looks at me a little too intensely.. If he gets a chance, He will surely grope me.. And I do not trust that 18yr old at that fancy mall... He will not bother about how much older to him I am, and he will rape me.

This is the age we live in.. We've lost what was dear to us.. This is the end of the world.. The world as we knew it. The dawn of a new era.. Merciless. Voyeuristic. Unjust.

I don't want to hear about another "March for Justice" for girl...
I want action. I want stringent laws to be put into place. I want action AGAINST the perpetrators and not just action FOR the victim.

I want a safer world. For me. For my little sisters who are just beginning to understand and enjoy the world outside their homes. For my friends, who are my windows to the awesome opportunities of fun in this city. For my daughters, who would be as much, if not more, adventurous as I am.

Is that too much to ask?