While many women — not just in India — might silently endure sexual harassment, a video of two sisters fighting back against their harassers has gone viral in India.
Aarti and Pooja Kumar, aged 22 and 19, were travelling on a public bus on Friday in the Rohtak district of the northern state of Haryana when they were "threatened" and "abused" by three men.
"The men started to abuse me and touch me. I told them 'if you touch me again, you'll get beaten up.' They called a friend on the phone and told him to 'come over because we have to beat up some girls,'" Pooja told the BBC.
When no one else on the bus tried to help them, the girls removed their belts and began beating their attackers."No one came forward in the bus to help us. So we took out our belts in self-defense (and hit the men.) If only the other passengers had helped us, we would not have needed to retaliate in this way," Pooja continued.
This video, recorded by another passenger on their cell phone, shows a man trying to intervene as the girls whipped, kicked and punched one of the alleged assailants.
The other passengers just watched. Some warned the girls of the potential consequences, like an acid attack, if they provoked the men.Police arrested and charged three men on Sunday, two days after the girls' parents filed a complaint. The driver and conductor of the bus have been suspended.
The video of the shocking incident has gone viral and fuelled debate about India's struggles to curb sexual harassment.
"Eve-teasing," a term used to describe the public harassment of women, has been a hot button issue in India since the deadly gang rape of a female student on a bus in the capital New Delhi in December 2012, which sparked nationwide protests and prompted the government to toughen rape laws.
But, judging from this latest attack, changing the attitudes of many men is going to take a lot longer.
The reaction to the video on social media has been huge. Bloggers using the hashtag #RohtakBravehearts have heaped praise on the girls' bravery and slammed the other passengers for their inaction.There have been offers of cash rewards and there are even plans to honor the girls' actions on Republic Day.
"Every girl should show bravery done by the two girls. I respect their bravery. Both the girls will be awarded rupees 31,000 (about $500) each. The government will probe into the case," OP Dhankar, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Jhajjar district, was quoted as saying.
