She did not keep her mouth shut when she talked about harassment on a Bengaluru bus, reviving the debate on safety concerns women face in public. An interview with Risha Gowda detailed an earlier incident she experienced on an airport bus in the city.
Behind her, she says, a man behaved inappropriately; he allegedly touched her multiple times without consent. “I wouldn’t say anything; this kind of thing was done to me,” she said. As the actress reflected, she tried to ignore it or more accurately, wished that it might cease, but it only got worse.
Not content with the repetitive behaviour, Risha said she reacted with steel and slapped the man on the spot. “Frustrated and wanting to stand up to inappropriate behaviour in those moments fueled my reaction,” she said. The specific incident in question is said to have drawn attention, but she had been disappointed that most passengers remained silent and did not intervene.
As to how she handled it all, Risha asserted it was only the bus employees who attended to her when she fell into trouble. Another issue was the fact that other passengers did not provide support, and she said bystanders are key to preventing such incidents from happening again.
The actress also lambasted the widespread popular idea that a woman’s clothes are somehow related to harassment. At that time, she explained, she was wearing jeans and a top, but her clothing had nothing to do with anything of this nature. “Even a woman dressed in the most traditional way (a saree) can get things like that happening,” she said, adding that we should be addressing the mindset behind the harassment and not blame the victim.
A global comparison can be drawn, as Risha said, Dubai, for instance, gives women a sense of security at night, but in much of India, now, the time period ends such that women do not dare leave the house after that point. This, she said, is a grave social issue of utmost importance.
The actress implored society to end disdain for women and encouraged men to support people and to rise in public against harassment. For when wrongdoing is involved, her most important point was that silence is a “way of emboldening the offender and stifling the victim.” Her experience hasn’t gone unused on social media, where friends and neighbours are posting thoughts of safety on public transport.
And then again, it’s a reminder that things’re not going to go great, that it’s about the law being enforced more, and about communities learning to do what’s best for their neighbours. “I think Risha Gowda was saying that the responsibility for keeping public spaces safe is everyone’s.” It shores up institutional solutions but also social action necessary to build a sound place for everyone.
