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Julie Wong: My
days in India - Part 1
Both me and the Indians around me are reeling form culture shock, and I'm
tired of being looked at, more often than not, like a freak show. I get
crude catcalls all the time, warnings about not walking alone at night and
about what to wear and what not to, hostile looks, men trying to grope me at
night, etc., etc. in fact, when I first arrived and was rooming with two
other ICCR
scholars, one
housemate indirectly threatened me for not behaving like Muslim women in his
country. So, I feel quite justified, morally, in wanting to live alone. Read
On
My
days in India: A letter to Chris -
Part 2
I do sleep well, too well actually. Often
forget where I am. I do that too when I'm reading, writing, or working on my
laptop. What I hear? Close your eyes and imagine honking cars, men shouting
after you things like, "hallooo, halloo, I love you," mumbling
something about your body, etc. Listen closer and you'll be lucky enough to
hear women's bangles and ankle bracelets. Listen even closer and you might
hear my thoughts of you. I'll make a tape of Indian sounds and send them to
you. Rain sounds almost the same here. I'm thinking of you, my dear.
Read On
My
days in India: A letter to Chris -
Part 3
One auto
rickshaw driver kept on reaching around to try and grope me. My first
housemate tried to tell me what to wear, when I could and could not go out,
who I could have visit me, etc., etc. of course, I vehemently refused to
have my autonomy taken away simply because he felt justified as a (Muslim)
man. During our last disagreement, he then indirectly threatened my life:
"In my country I would follow a woman (like you) and kill her."
So, I promptly moved into a guesthouse at the university.
Read
On
My
days in India -
Part 4
I can't tell you how dis-empowering
it is to deal with these sorts of incidents almost daily, in the end knowing
that the offending men/boys get away with impunity and that something
similar will happen again. What are my conclusions? That I want, more than
ever, to do international work in an effort to push for distribution of
wealth and resources inter and intra nationally, between and within
countries. India is a paradox I feel, largely because of the huge gap
between the rich and the poor. Read
On
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