let's talk about the normal stuff
though this should not be normal.
akshaya happily dressed up and went to collect her homework from her friend at the busstop
for me this was progress
not asking anyone to come with her
going on her own
excited
she came back later angry and nearly in tears
slammed my gate pass down and stormed
I hate men
the construction workers were just staring at me and im just dressed like this- she meant just jeans and tee shirt
I made the mistake of not taking her seriously enough at first
laughing it off
saying they were probably just tired and looking at her harmlessly.
ashwin was nearby and I wanted to calm things down
but she was very upset
and I should have taken her more seriously
inadvertently I had dismissed her real concerns
quickly realising I went back to talk to her
she had walked past these construction workers who watched her non stop from one end of the road to the other making her feel so uncomfortable
so she walked back another way thru the blocks
and there one or two guys whistled at her and catcalled her! she glared at him
no wonder she was mad
and this was 5.30 pm by our house!
I listened empathised shared stories of such incidents in my youth and how my friend showed me how to deal with it.
ashwin was super curious. so I told him. he turned visibly uncomfortable
i told him too how every woman in her life would have been harassed like this. hr asked, even me? i said yes, even me and even aaya. but not every man has harassed a woman like appa has never. so he should never, of course he wouldn't but he shouldnt support or let his friends do such things either later on when he is older.
isn't this truth horrible. sigh.
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