"Hidden stories"
Public transportation: cheap, easy to find, and anyone can ride; no matter what identity you carry. A lot of people are busy and in a rush these days. Not everyone can afford their own vehicle and not everyone has to travel daily. So, the easiest and the cheapest option available is public transport. While traveling, we see and meet a lot of unique people; people who discuss their own household problems in a loud manner or speak in a loud voice on the phone like they are only one in the bus; people who use earphones not giving a care about anyone or reading books. It’s kind of fun sometimes to listen to those unique stories and create memories. But when it comes to security inside public buses, it’s a bit questionable. Being pickpocketed or robbed is quite common. The other thing that is most common is sexual harassment which many people face in public vehicles.
I have also been harassed in the public vehicles; here are some bitter experiences of mine that I have faced during traveling.
While some people are waiting to get a seat on a very packed bus, some lunatics see this as an opportunity to harass. One day while I was traveling from Bhaktapur, the bus was overcrowded. On the bus, I was standing along with other passengers and jus then a man pinched in my pants when I looked back, there were 3 men, 2 standing and 1 was in the seat and all were acting like they didn’t know anything. I didn’t react thinking it might have happened accidentally. Again, after some time the same thing happened, when I looked back, they were laughing at me. I couldn’t say anything because my station had arrived and I had to leave. I was feeling so bad for myself; didn’t know what to do and whom to tell.
I usually travel on a night bus while traveling to or from Kathmandu (long-distance traveling). One time while I was traveling from Kathmandu to a certain place, a man in his early ’40s was seated next to me. We shared a formal high hello and talked for a bit. During the night, when everyone else was asleep in the bus, I felt his hand brushing my thighs. I removed his hands but the man didn’t stop there. After a while, again I felt a cold hand touching me. He moved his hand to my belly, it was unbearable, I couldn’t control myself. I threw his hand with brute force and told other people in the bus. Everyone in the bus shouted at him and he apologized. Later, I changed my seat and sat next to a lady. The same thing happened in another bus but this time it was experienced by another girl. Yes, there are seats allocated for women but the thing missing is security. Many girls face the similar kind of problems. The one case which got media attention was “bus Kanda”, a man ejaculating in girl’s hair. The man even made the video and posted it online. I have no idea how bad that girl felt that time. Nirbhaya rape case, a very horrific rape case in history, happened in the public bus of India. It’s so hard to believe that these kinds of obscene acts can happen in public buses.
If you travel daily and haven’t experienced it, then you are really lucky. According to a research published in 2019, 219 out of 280 female students were harassed while using public transportation. The number of public vehicles has increased and along with it to so has the number of cases of harassment. Victims of sexual harassment have psychological and social effects; they may lack confidence in their work, may quit job/study and can have depression too. Thieves who steal money are often caught but the one who steals our smile, causes us physical, emotional, and mental harm walk freely just because we remain silent. The thing that I learned from these incidents is that until and unless you react they continue this repeatedly. Harassment often happens but it is one of the silent issues in our society. The parents and victims also don’t want to complain in such cases thinking that reacting against harassment would lead to further harassment. But silence is not the solution. The one who do not react can be repeatedly victimized by harassers. So, in case anyone gets harassed in any way, just raise your voice and react against it. Tell it to people around you or report it to the police. Don’t let it slide away.