They were drunk and looking for trouble. She was alone, walking back home in the evening and seemed like an easy target to the two drunken men. They reached out to grab her, only to get a fistful of fury.
A 16-year-old girl has become an overnight role model for millions of women across India after fighting off two drunk men. She was accosted by them in West Bengal’s Madhyamgram while she was returning from her karate class. Having been trained in karate for over a year, she was more than able to handle the men. Instead of fleeing, she chose to defend herself with some well-aimed punches and kicks. “I smashed their faces,” she said in an interview with TOI. “They got what they deserved. I am not afraid of them,” she said.
“I started learning karate a year ago because I feared I might be sexually assaulted. Crimes against women have risen alarmingly in our part of town. I wanted to be able to defend myself and I am glad I did,” she added.
The duo, who are on the run, are habitual offenders. They are in a group of five that hangs around Doltala area, harassing any woman who passes by. “They had been teasing me and my friend for the past few weeks. I had complained against them to local people but no one dared speak a word against them. They are a terror for women,” she said. “I told myself that if it crossed the line, I would fight back.”
But on Monday evening, this 16-year-old girl reduced these ‘terrors’ to bloody, battered and bewildered men, having punched them where it hurts the most – their face. Passersby stared at them and nobody came to her help. Just this one, this girl probably didn’t need it.
If there was ever a good incentive to learn martial arts, it is this episode. It’s far too idealistic to assume that society will transform and women will be treated well again. It should happen, but it’s not likely to happen anytime in the near future. Empowering every woman in the country to fight for herself, physically and mentally, is a far more achievable objective and should happen soon.
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