Dear Spark Team,
I am full of anger and outrage while I pen down my thoughts today. And why shouldn’t I be? Why shouldn’t any other girl be? Or rather why shouldn’t any other human being be? The recent chain of incidents that have taken place on BHU campus are something to be felt outraged about, by each and every girl, each and every student, each and every youth and each and every human being of this society. Yes, I am a girl, maybe not from BHU campus, who is worried about her safety. A girl who can totally identify with the victim of BHU. A girl who is first harassed by goons on streets and then by authorities. A girl who has the right to live a dignified life. A girl who has her own voice and will raise it against the unjust and fight for the just! Yes, I am a student, who is outraged by the attitude of authorities. Irked at the comments, “It is your fault that you were out so late”, “It is your fault because the dress you were wearing was too revealing”, from the people whom I and my family have trusted for my security. Comments like, “What every girls thinks cannot be accounted for”, “The girls are indulging in an act of violence and any civilized citizen should not and will not become a part of it”, “It would be wrong if we cared for security of girls more than boys”, from the people whom we students all entrust our education with. Miss Warden, if everything that goes wrong is my fault then every girl in this society should be molested everyday every moment because she dares to step out on the streets! Mr. VC, if the opinion of every girl cannot be accounted for, then let the girls get raped everyday on campus in broad daylight while you still wear the mask of a civilized citizen! Yes, I am a youth of this society where I see a lot of injustices happening around me. A youth who has decided to rise against it and raise my voice. A youth that is lathi charged for doing the right thing! A youth whose voice is suppressed by force because the authorities fear that my voice would stir the anger that resides in the minds of many more youth like me! A youth who can smell the fear that resides in the minds of authorities and dares to challenge the authorities along with my youth friends. A youth that will not take this injustice happening to anyone around me quietly! Yes, I am a member of this society, where the people who assure me my safety are the ones to be trusted the least with it. A member of the society where a girl is harassed but officials, despite having full knowledge of the incident, wait for an official complaint to be registered and take no actions even after that. A society where accountability lies with absolutely no one! A society where every injustice that happens is used as a political weapon by some to defame a few others, leaving behind my interests as a member of this society. A society where the current system is definitely not working and is not even bothered about me. But I am not the girl, not the student, not the youth and not the member of this society who will take all this quietly. I am a girl who will fight for my right along with girls like me. I am a student who will not keep mum but instead raise my voice against the unjust along with students like me. I am a youth that will not sit and watch the system do whatever it wants but instead will challenge it along with other youth like me. I am a member of the society who will fight for the right along with others like me. I know I am not alone in this fight! I extend my full support to the protest of students at BHU. -Shirin
