Public Service Announcement: Dear Women, Please Shut Up!

Getting stalked? Sexually harassed? Abused online? Worry not, we have the solution to all your woes!

Getting stalked? Sexually harassed? Abused online? We have the solution to all your woes!

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

Hey ladies,

Getting stalked? Sexually harassed? Abused online? Trolled with rape threats?

We’ve got the solution to all your woes!

Silence. Just keep quiet and it’ll all be fine.

Confused? Want to know why women shouldn’t complain when they get stalked or sexually harassed? Let Varnika Kundu, the 29-year-old woman who was stalked at midnight in Chandigarh, tell you why. From experience.

Oh, and men, you must pay heed too.

So here’s the playbook for what happens every time a woman complains.

First, They Ignore You

Getting stalked on a lonely road late at night? Thinking of screaming for help?

Don’t worry. Even if there are bystanders in plenty, help is unlikely. Passersby just want to pass by. They’re like the three monkeys that see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.

Only difference? They see no stalker, hear no stalker, speak of no stalker!

Then, They Mock You

Arre why did you complain, yaar? Stalking can be so romantic. Maybe he just wanted to show you that he likes you. Don’t you watch movies?

Then, They Shame You

You could call it victim-shaming, except they don’t really think you’re the victim. After all, what business did you have being out so late in the night?

“Don’t you remember that you’re a woman? Stay indoors, stay safe. You’ll make your family lose their honour otherwise!”

And Then?

What happens at the end of all that though?

Watch the video to find out!

Video Editor: Kunal Mehra

(Sign our petition to make stalking a non-bailable offence.)