#metoo

                                                     

Many of us are avid users of social networking sites based on our preferences. But whatever be the site, one can get a lumpsum overview of the users thorough their bios. In earlier days, like every other teenager; clueless and trying to fit in, I copy-pasted some lines which were already written, lines that were already heard to my bio. But over time, I changed and so did my bios. Now my bio reads Student | Gender Advocate.

Yes, I want to call myself a wannabe Gender Advocate. After working for a year and more in the same, I realized there are a lot of reforms in gender aspects the current world is seeking despite great strides made in the same arena. People who came across my profile told me they were very fascinated by my bio. This was when I sensed a deep responsibility to be eligible enough to add this tagline to my bio.

Recently, I was surfing twitter and I saw #metoo all over my feed. Curiosity got the best of me and immediately, I did what everyone else would do. I googled.  I found that #metoo was a movement initiated by Actress Alyssa Mylano who was one of Harvey Weinstein’s most vocal critics. Harvey Weinstein is by the way a hollywood producer who has been facing a lot of allegations of sexual harrasmment and assault from women in the film industry. She wrote; “If all the women who have been sexually harrassed or assaulted wrote ‘me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem and urged fellow people to write ‘me too as a reply to the tweet.

I was left in awe by the number of women and men finding courage to be vocal about intimate incidents of their lives and coming forward to stand up and speak up on a very sensitive issue.

I wanted to add my voice to the movement too.

After a lot of brain-storming, I found my story to share. One day I was partying with my friends in a club. What do you normally see in a club? Girls and boys sharing their booze, singing and dancing all night, then when drinks and shots start getting the best of them, some start behaving recklessly. We happen to hear and some of us encounter a lot of unfortunate incidents at such places. Some complain how men take undue advantage over unconscious girls. The big question is; how can we remain confident that we dont play victim to such situations and avoid getting someone else into the same?  It’s very essential to know whether the next person is equally comfortable to talk to you, shake hands, hug or anything. This may happen when both the parties are conscious but the same thing must happen when the either of the parties are unconscious too. I would want to believe young girls and boys in today’s world dont drink or smoke to act smart or impress. They do for their own pleasure and this should never be taken sexually and with a wrong intuition. I keep on hearing such stories every other day. One has to always apologize when the things are discovered and shared aftermath and make sure he or she is aware enough to not repeat it later in the days to come.

This is for everyone including me as a reminder to promote Zero Tolerance to all harassment and behaviours that seem unethical. Thus, I ask you all of you to examine how we examine in this world and how we utilize the space of others. Do not victimize others or play a victim to sexual harassments or assaults. 

(This article was published on Kathmandu Tribune - Nepal's Online Daily on Oct 25th, 2017) https://kathmandutribune.com/metoo/