We have constructed a society in which every girl is abused. We fight against abuse. We never think it’ll happen to us.
And then it does. We go silent. We stop talking. Stop responding. Silent. We move into the sidelines. Avoid confrontation. Hope it will stop. We give up pieces of ourselves, waiting for the storm to pass, for the five minutes of peace.
And then the storm is back. We’re pulled back out of our corners. Abused. We’re sucked into the whirlwind just when we least expect. Spinning. Going quieter. So quiet, that we lose our voices.
“He was just angry.” “It was a one time thing.” We start to make excuses. So, so scared of confrontation, we start to blame ourselves.
Its time we stop.
It’s time we come out of the sidelines. Out front and center. Claim the spot light. We are abused. Verbally. Physically. Mentally. We are pushed and pushed and pushed. Cornered. Broken.
We ignore this abuse. Put on a happy face. Smile for the rest of the world. Pretend it doesn’t happen. Hope that it will end.
But it doesn’t.
It sticks. It happens to us everyday. In every Uber, on every street, in every elevator. We are constantly threatened, constantly hurt.
We can’t take it anymore. We won’t take it anymore. We will show to the world all that we have mastered concealing