“Hello guys, this lady wants to wear short dresses to encourage all to see them. All the ladies wear (these) short dresses, or are naked... to (get) rape(d), ” says a woman, while facing the camera, offended by the length of a girl’s dress.
Shivani Gupta, along with her friends, was at a Gurgaon restaurant when she was allegedly abused by a lady in the now viral video for wearing a “short dress”. Not only were her friends allegedly told that they “deserve to get raped” when they stepped in, but the lady also launched into a rant, asking the men in the room to rape ‘women like them’ the moment they see them, according to Shivani in her Instagram post (which has been taken down by Instagram as of now).
At some point, another woman steps in to defend the girls from the barrage of misogyny. “You have no right to tell her what to wear,” she asserts furiously.
This is followed by a verbal spat where the lady in question stands her ground and asks for the police to be called.
‘I Was Harsh and Incorrect in My Statement’: Woman Tenders Apology
A day after the video went viral, the woman took to social media to tender an “unconditional apology to all the girls” for the “harsh and incorrect statement” she had made.
“In hind sight, I realise, I was harsh and incorrect in my statement. If any, I should have offered my opinion in private. I was concerned,” the woman wrote in her Facebook post.
Stating that she should have been “protective and progressive in her outlook” and “not conservative and regressive”, she said “As a wife, sister and a mother and more importantly as a woman, I value every woman's dignity. Once again, I profusely apologise to all women whose sentiments have been hurt.”
Patriarchy Affects All Genders
“Why do women in burkas get raped, then?” we hear a voice in the background asking. The video is up on Shivani’s Facebook profile. A flood of reactions poured in after the video was posted on social media.
These are just some among the thousands of comments on Shivani’s social media, supporting her and her friends for having stood up to regressive forces.
However, Shivani’s video was removed from Instagram hours after having posted it.
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