The wonderful experiences of taking public transport in Kathmandu- Part II

Continued from: The Wonderful Experinces of Taking Public Transport in Kathmandu: Part I

My computer just decided not to charge anymore and just die on me…Meow, what is a girl supposed to do without her laptop? And yes, it is still not fixed so I had to drag myself to walk all the way to the library to finish this second part because I knew how everyone was anticipating the other half of the blog (I like being narcissicist sometimes)!

So, just in case you have forgotten what my last article was about or did not read it, I was talking about how the problems girls have to face when taking public transportation in Kathmandu with men trying to assault you and touching you inappropriately. In this blog, I want to point out the flaws in us women itself, how we define feminism. To be honest, having a quota system is a slap in the face for me, be it in job interviews or in the bus. Not only does it make us realize that men are giving us something as a favor but it makes us look less qualified. For example, if I did extremely well in my school and my guy friend did not, it is highly likely that I will get the job over him (all other things being the same). Surely, there are some jobs women are good at and there are some jobs guys are good at, but there is no reason as to why men are better at most of the jobs or better doctors or engineers compared to women! That is a bunch of crap created by the unfair society and we sadly try to stick to it. You might be wondering what this has to do with travelling in public buses, but trust me, there is a connection.

Tell me how it feels when you are trapped between a chatpatey-wala smelling like sweat and all the spices and a middle aged pot bellied man with a smelly breath in the month of Jestha in a micro only to look over and to see the sign “Women and handicapped” seat being taken over by a twenty-two year old healthy boy. It pisses me like no other! Not only are we being compared to handicapped or old people (not that I have anything against them), but the so called “men” do not even have the enough decency to give us a seat while they clearly see what we go through.

surprisingly i found personal videos and stories on the web like this here!

So my dear ladies, stand up for yourself, carry yourself with dignity and make sure you have that pepper spray with you! Any time any random guy tries to behave inappropriately, hit them, kick them, yell at them, pepper-spray them….DON’T STAY QUIET! That is exactly what they want…for you to not to anything about it so that they can do it to every girl they are next to! Once you let them know clearly you are not taking any of that crap from them, they will think twice before getting close to any other girl! Be proud of yourself and get on that Microbus/bus/tempo! Let them know you are okay standing in the micro while all the men take the seats…we have had all the opportunities men have, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise and make you feel weaker! We are just as good as any of the men we have encountered, if not better; We surely do not need any favors from them and we surely will not take any kind of disrespect lightly from perverts like them.