Molested and blamed for wearing skirt, says Indore woman on Twitter

A woman has alleged two men tried to pull down her skirt on a road in Indore as she drove her scooter on Sunday, saying on Twitter it was her right to wear what she wished.

“These scars will fade but not the ones on my soul,” the woman said about a picture she posted of the injuries she suffered when she tried to fend off the men early Monday. The woman, who cannot be named because of laws protecting the identity of sexual harassment victims, describes herself as an Indore-based model and actor.

She said she was driving a two-wheeler when two men on a motorcycle molested her and shouted “dikhao skirt ke niche kya hai” (show us what’s underneath). She lost control of her scooter when she tried to stop the men and fell down.

“Those guys don’t have any right to harass me because WEARING A SKIRT DOESN’T GIVE YOU A RIGHT TO BEHAVE LIKE THAT [SIC].” A man who offered help allegedly faulted her for wearing a skirt. “I have never been so offended,” she said.

Her tweets were retweeted and commented upon hundreds of times. Most people supported her decision to speak out and urged her to approach the police.

“We have taken cognizance and we are willing to help. Indore police will come to her aid as soon as she contacts us,” said Hari Narayan Chari Mishra, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Indore Police.

The Twitter handle of DIG Indore asked the woman to contact them.

“I want to thank everyone who has come forward to support me. I’m just an ordinary girl, and I needed my story to be heard. Not just for me, but also for all those girls who didn’t dare to do the same,” said the woman in a tweet.