Dear Narendra Modi, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Anil Ambani,
I am writing to YOU specifically because you are the most powerful and influential MEN in our country.
I am writing to you as a woman who grew up in a middle class family in Mumbai.
I am writing to YOU for HELP!
My parents may not like me saying this. I apologize to them if they are reading but this is NOT MY SHAME. It’s THIER SHAME.
My first experience with the opposite sex, was when I was just 13 and groped by a man (never saw his face but will never forget his hand) while walking in the vegetable market with my mom. She had just given me the worst haircut and as an angry teenager I was upset at her and was lagging behind as she walked ahead. I still remember what I was wearing. It was her dress, mustard with flowers and little bow in the front. How I hate that dress! As if, it was the dress’s fault.
I was shocked at first. Speechless. He disappeared. I just stood there. Tears started pouring out of my innocent eyes. I told my mom who went mad screaming in the market but who knew where that man disappeared to. I still remember the dirty feeling I had and the number of times I showered in my grand-mom’s bathroom after. That feeling never went away.
Shenaz Treasurywala
Since then it was non-stop. I would try to articulate this to my parents and while my mom understood, my dad and uncles told me I was imagining it. Maybe they just couldn’t deal with it. CAN YOU?
When I was 15, I started going by train and bus to St. Xaviers’ College. I was groped and touched and from all angles and this was just how I grew up. Not Just Me but MOST INDIAN WOMEN who don’t have the luxury of cars and drivers.
As a teenager I would dream of and still sometimes dream that I had a machine gun and could kill all the men who tried to grope me. A very disturbing dream for a kid, don’t you think?
I got my first assignment as a model in the FYJC and I had to go to screen-tests straight from college. So I had to dress nice, didn’t make it any easier. I specifically remember the time I went for an audition in a red body suit and a black long skirt with slits. It was HELL! I never wore that again. As if it was the dress’s fault.
I developed ways to defend myself, I always carried a bag in front of me, my fist was always clenched, I always turned around every 20 seconds to check who was behind me and a few times I slapped men who touched me, I got slapped back many times too. Sometimes saved by the public, MOST TIMES NOT.
My mom begged me not to pick fights with men who touched me, she was afraid of acid being thrown at me or that somebody someday would hurt me badly. She is STILL AFRAID and today she told me not to take an UBER to my meeting tomorrow. Hell ya. BAN UBER! Make everyone take responsibility for this.
My sister got into Sophia’s college, we were all excited. She went by bus but the first day she came home, she sobbed traumatized. A man had put his hand in her tee-shirt through her sleeve, the entire bus ride. She just froze. She was a kid too and wasn’t equipped to even understand this. I was LIVID. I’m sorry sis for telling the world this, please don’t stop speaking to me. IT’S NOT Our Shame. It’s THEIRS!
One of my friends in college was RAPED on the train on her way home in the ladies compartment. She was sick and was going home in the 11:15 break. There was nobody in the first class compartment going back to Bandra at that time, it was a superfast meaning it didn’t stop at most stations. He raped her and then jumped off after using her scrunchy (hair tie) to wipe himself. She was the only one on the train and had to limp her way back to her home in Bandra, bleeding profusely. She was just 16. This she felt was her shame so she did not say anything to anyone.
BUT IT ISN’T HER SHAME, it’s THEIR SHAME.
My mom accompanied me to Hyderabad on a shoot once. In churi bazaar, a cyclist groped My MOM. My dear respected and lovely MOM.
Sorry Mom, IT’S NOT Our Shame, It’s THEIR SHAME.
Why am I telling you my personal story?
Well first I want all women to Speak Up.
Let’s make this our MOTTO-
It’s not OUR SHAME, it’s THEIR SHAME.
Who are “THEY”?
“THEY” ARE THE MEN IN OUR COUNTRY.
Not just the rapists and the sexual offenders and gropers but also our Fathers (sorry dad) and Uncles and Brothers and MOVIE STARS AND CRICKETERS AND POLITICIANS for not SAVING US or PROTECTING US by insisting and protesting for the LAWS TO CHANGE and Rapists and Gropers to BE PUNISHED SEVERELY!
Why do we as women have to feel so threatened? WHY has there been no severe action taken? This has gone on for years now. Not just in Delhi but all over our country and yes even in BOMBAY OR MUMBAI OR Whatever the hell you want to call it! It’s NOT SAFE. NO!
My biggest fear ever since I was kid and even today when I walk back home at night from yoga or when I take a rickshaw from a friend’s home is being RAPED. I still feel that fear. I am still am on guard. I still fantasize of having that MACHINE GUN.
In the past 4 years I have been living and working half in India and half in New York and let me tell you I have walked the streets of Harlem, the Bronx and Brooklyn (perceived as the most dangerous in NYC) at3am after parties in short skirts and felt safer than I feel in Bandra at 10 pm on a quiet road fully covered. WHY??
Let’s talk about Delhi our Capital. I was there 2 days ago and the day of the rape. I wanted to go out and walk by India Gate and admire our great monuments but could I?! Why??
What good are all your speeches in the US or Japan or AUSTRALIA- NAMO, if no woman can walk freely in the streets even in broad daylight by herself in the CAPITAL OF OUR COUNTRY. Isn’t this a SHAME? SHAME ON YOU SIR.
This is our NO1 issue. FIX THIS before anything else.
This is a SHAME. And it’s YOUR SHAME. You are now RESPONSIBLE FOR US.
I beg all of you fine gentlemen that I have addressed to help change the LAW.
You are powerful men. I say, SHAME and PUNISH THE Gropers and Sexual offenders severely. KILL THE RAPISTS.
I won’t ask for public castration which is what I want and all the women want because I know this is unrealistic and things move SO DAMN SLOW in our FINE NATION.
All I ask for is the -Death Penalty Please. NOW! QUICK!
If that’s too hard or will take too long then at least LIFE IMPRISONMENT.
Put them away forever.
Why was this man who had raped twice before out on bail?
And then given a drivers license? YES, BAN UBER TOO. Make everyone responsible.
I’m ready to do anything. I’m not a big enough celeb but you Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Sharukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Anil Ambani SIRS- need to speak up as MEN ( you are the men with the power)
SAVE US!
Please demand the Death Sentence for the Rapists.
NO BAIL. Just Death.
Superstars I beg you, please take a stand. Use your Superstardom and Power and MONEY and save the women of our country. SAVE US!
I urge you to protest or go on a fast or do something DRASTIC so people take notice, the government wakes up and CHANGES the LAW so these men are terrified to touch us.
Death to rapists. No bail. Just death.
Imagine Amitabh Bachchan Sir, Aamir Khan, Salmaan Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Ambani- if you went on a fast or walked to the Rashrtrapati In Delhi. If you, took this stand and made this YOUR NO 1 issue, how much change there would be?!
Why should we as women feel so unsafe in our motherland?!
Why should we as women be terrified and on guard all the time.
Why was this man out on bail after committed two rapes already ?
Make an Example Of Him.
Any man who even touches a woman should be imprisoned for life.
Be strict, make examples of these men, scare those who dare to touch us.
SCARE THEM BY MAKING AN EXAMPLE OUT OF THEM.
SAVE US, Save your mother, daughter, sister please!
This is NOT OUR SHAME.
THIS IS YOURS.
SHAME ON YOU.
Don’t sleep till you – SAVE YOUR WOMEN!
With all respect,
Shenaz Treasurywala
Great letter Shenaz…hoping this will be heard and acted upon soon…rapists have no space in this world and humanity must reject these lowly beings….
The anguish, the helplessness, frustration and bitterness of millions of young women is voiced through this letter….She fails to understand that our men are Chauvinists…Their Portrayal as Men of substance and Hero’s is nothing but a fig of imagination… They are nothing but “Paper Tiger’s”…. Change can be possible by “The Youth of today “…. The youngster’s should take cudgels against such acts and voice them so as to enable people to become aware of such issues…it should also become mandatory for all girls to learn martial arts for self defence ….Sad but it is true..yeh Mera India….
salute you Shenaz. very good initiative.
I appreciate your courage everyone is so busy in making his/her picture perfect that no one will come unless the are gaining something out from that issue…..
Politician,celebrities and so called thinkers.They all are aware what’s going in the society still they are standing silently….
It’s you and I and most importantly WE have to come together to fight this evil……
May ALMIGHTY guide us to the wright path……
A real eye opener …. I salute you miss treasurywala for your courageous letter…..
hats of shehnaz…
all India will support u.
Hats off to this brave girl. Salute the woman Power.
VERY TRUE ….. THIS IS THE REAL , SAME FEELING WE FEEL EVERY DAY….
I LIVE IN DUBAI & BELIEVE ME I FEEL SO RELAXED AND SAFE EVEN IF I WALK ON STREETS LATE BY 2:00 AM IN NIGHT .. BUT IN OUR COUNTRY I DON’T FEEL SAFE IN THE DAY TIME ALSO EVEN IF I AM IN HOME….
HOW ANY ONE CAN TOUCH A WOMEN OR EVEN STARE AT HER WITHOUT HER PERMISSION ?????
MY BODY ! MY RIGHT!
HOPE THIS LETTER OF HER MAKE THESE GENTLEMAN’S AWAKE …………
I REALLY SALUTE THE SYSTEM OF UAE .. THEY TAKE STRICT ACTIONS AND RIGHT JUDGEMENT IN FAVOR OF WOMEN.. NO BODY CAN EVEN SEE YOU .. STARE YOU .. !!!!
COME ON …
OUR POLITICIANS , OUR BIG CELEBS, BIG PERSONALITIES
OUR SO CALLED SYSTEM ……..
YOU ARE THERE BECAUSE OF US .. TO HELP US..
AND IF YOU CANT SAVE US THEN BETTER TO LEAVE YOUR PLACE
I can empathise with every word she said. I have been through that horrible phase myself.
However in my opinion if Shenaz wants powerful people to take a stand, shouldn’t it be powerful women. There are hundreds of very powerful women in India. Politicians, Actors, Singers, Directors, Writers, Scientists, Artists, Business women, Doctors, Teachers, Sports person, Professors, etc and the lists goes on.
I agree that Salman, Shahrukh etc, they are powerful people, but don’t you think that it is high time that women should come on streets for their own rights. I believe it is not fair to ask someone else to carry our baggage. Didn’t we learning in school “Apna Kaam Swayam Karo”.
I don’t think that anyone has any doubt about power of Indian women, they have the strength to take down anyone. We have to stop dragging men to fight for us, they will join us, but asking them to do every thing for us is not fair.
All of the insane guys, who are asking to stop dressing in short clothes; they are the first ones who want their girlfriends or wives to wear it and look good because it is modern today.
What nonsense, guys can take all fashion that salman bhai does like showing your underwear above the pants. And you want your women to be dresses like in 80’s.
How about changing guy’s mindset…all who are agqinst dressing style..change your mindset first.If not..then strt wearing dhoti and kurta from tomorrow…give up ur jeans and open shirts…
Shame on you…
I strongly abhor rapes and molestation n must say these people should be either castrated or hung in public to set as an example .. Damn to those who Dont even care about the age of a child or women irrespective of 5 yrs or 70 yes. In fact its all an all very bad for every age women . I support such initiative and ready to come forward if ma participation anywhere makes it happen . we need a ” SAFE India before Swachh India ” sage for our daughters and sisters and mothers .
Hats off to the lady for this! BUT let it not stop here….
Why do the leaders have to step forward, what about all of us…
Take a promise from your own brother and father that they are not groppers, take a promise from them that they will support every girl/women/lady who raises a voice against it, take a promise from them that they will make it their fight….
Yes, it is not the women but the men in this country who are shamed by this….. break the first hand which starts gropping you…
Death to rapist is only a slogan and only an opinion maker… it is time that the shamed (the men) who have to rise up to the occasion….
well, as far as the laws are concerened , they are enough to handle this problem. the only problem is making use of them. voilation of a law exists only when the culprit knows its weekness(in terms of corruption, bribery, week enforcment system etc). Inspit of making new laws, government should work on improving the existing one in terms of implementation, effectiveness. Creating more laws will not be of much use if the exicting managment system is week, inefficient and MONEYMINDEED.
I HUMBLY REQUEST ALL WOMEN TO WEAR PROPER DRESS INSTEAD OF WEARING SHORT SKIRT OR SEMI NUDE DRESS WHICH WILL REDUCE RAPES TO SOME EXTENT !!
Very well charactorised sheyaz, but what your asking for is lil too much oh come on we are in 21st century now. Whats your view on girls who use it for their benefit. RAPERS SHOULD BE REWARDED DEATH SENTENCE. But even today we find women who provoke guys instead, let nots talk about any examples. Its as simiple as the way they dress.
Yes, 100% right,
Shame is on both side, if we wear respectable clothing, no1 even thinks of seeing. If you wear tempting dresses, yes u are welcoming and creating a chances to get harassed. Im not telling u not to wear such kind of dresses.,
Wear clean and fully covered respectful dresses, and protect yourself first. then talk about things which u have mentioned above.
WOMENS needs to be respected, WOMEN should be protected, WOMANs are Queens of our home, We need to protect them, They need to Protect them self by proper clothing and behavior too
Hatts off to you Shehnaz !
Honest effort but unfortunately Women need to take stand for themselves too, As most of the women make prey of themselves so they should also practise precaution, because prevention is better than cure.
God Knows when the system will take note of this & stringent laws will made.
Yes, death penalty to rapists. If a rapist is found guilty after the medical and lie detection test, then he should be immediately sent to gallows. This will save court’s time. One more thing, tomorrow if she gets infected by Malaria, then also she is going to blame NaMo. Anyways her name reflects that she is a Congress or MIM supporter.
Ya shrenas , u r right .. being a woman in this world ..
God created man n woman like that ..
But now u have freedom to do whatever u want ? do it for ur own happiness !!!
But dont forget u r not alone in this world ?
There is always a reaction for every action !
so there will be reaction in any form either from men , mostly like what u r saying and from women who does not like what u do ?
But don’t worry . u have every freedom to do what u want for ur happiness !
Nobody is at shame either men or women !!!!
This world is full of good and bad people n things !
everyone has to take it in their stride and learn to forget if u don’t like it ..
learn ur Life to live with all Human kinds , because everything is created by GOD like what it is ..
Open letter to Shehnaz Treasurywala in response to her open letter to PM Modi which got viral.
Dear Shenaz,
I had to Google up to see who you are, and then I recalled you worked in a film called Delhi Belly which had a song called Bhag Bhag Bhosdike..hope you knew the meaning of “Bhosdike” before you signed for the film..this slang is against woman , hope you knew that ? ….and yes I recalled that extra ordinarily erotic scene of yours in that film because of which and other such extremely derogatory abuses the film was given an A certificate and you all fought against that decision….Anyways…
Your letter literally moved me despite me being aware that you have a movie to be released in next few weeks, despite me being aware that celebs like you only wake up for social causes when you have a selfish interest to promote.Despiteme wondering how this letter of yours reached to 20 websites together in one go ? Despite me being aware that celebs like you charge fee for appearing even at charity shows.!! So this sudden awakening of yours was little surprising…. anyways….
Shenaz, I wholeheartedly support your demand of very strong laws against such crimes , but have you read Nirbhaya Law even once ? Do you even know how stringent it is ? Still agree with you that there is huge scope of improvement and government must ensure things improve from their end. But if NAMO only could change everything , he would have that changed on 16th May itself. By any chance, do we see our individual role in fighting this evil ? Rather do we even acknowledge that this evil is beyond law and order ? If not, do we expect our streets to be deployed with policemen all over just to keep a vigil on each and every girl and boy roaming around ? You said you were groped multiple times (I am sorry about that) but how does law and order take care of it unless you complain ? A girl dates a stranger boy, goes to her apartment, gets raped by boy and his friends , how do you see it as a law and order problem ? (Mumbai Police commissioner on record said 75% cases are such in which girl knew the boy) Or like other liberals , you too believe that deploying a full battalion in front of each and every pub in the city would solve all the problem ?
If for few minutes you are ready to believe this issue is beyond law and order, let me take you to the other side of the story….
An XYX deo brand would claim , use me and get a woman , an underwear company would claim , wear me and get a woman , a condom company would claim , wear me and get a woman, you watch any movie the only role of an actress would be to please the actor and the audience …nothing else..this literal objectificationof woman is hundred times uglier than what “manusmriti” did thousands of years back. So when day and night everyone everywhere is talking about “getting a woman” , how would you control a sick guy “getting” a lonely woman in a train compartment on his own ? forcefully this time though. Have you celebs ever sat ( at least over a cocktail party ) and discussed what effect your Ads , your movies have on society ?
Did you ever raise your voice against producers signing Sunny leone one after the other as lead actress , ever objected as to what her eligibility is as an artist ? Have you celebs discussed such issues with Ad makers who present women as mere sexual target ? Have you raised your voice when a script writer portrays a woman as an “object” ? You know what…you guys create such frustrated assholes in society gradually …you guys act as a slow poison in society because the same people look upon you, they follow you blindly, they believe you, they ape you to whatever you show on the screen !!
I am not saying just films or just ads or just porn or just parenthood is responsible for rapes or sexual assault on woman ,but all such topics are contributors in different forms and proportions to the making of a rapist.
Hope U bettr understand
Sanam
True indian… what a slap to all of us …Respect her
Even being boy, many times i encountered harassments in buses. In fact many of my friends who are guys got harassed by other men. But as far as you can manage to escape from the situation, everything is okay. There is no need to create issues. If ladies can plan thier activities well, they will not be rape victims. Even innocent animals like deers get killed by other animals like tiger. Chickens get killed by humans. Everything in this worls is survival of the fittest. If you are not the fittest, just learn to be smart, to be away from hungry wild animals. Do not write such letters for publicity.
Even i have gone thru this since my childhood.
My brother , my teacher , my friends , my boss, pessengers in train
Every man in relation has used me by one and the another way.
To whom we should tell dis?? To our parents???
A girl can never share such things to their parents.
To d person whom dey love??
One person will do what??? We can only say. We can do Nothing for it.
How much tim and where we can save our self????
Mr modi
U want to change the nation but dont you think dat first you hv to giv safety to women????
Who will protect us????
Its not safe to walk wod ur boy friend of family if u r of young age.
Where a girl will go????
From how much man’s we will able to protect our self??? And till when????
Every minute my one of sister is gettig rapped in this country.
Where is the safety???
Why tears are not falling from your eyes after reading this???
We are helpless as we do not have power to save our self. But please protect us by bringing some strict law against such criminals.
Dont leave them alive who just pissec off girl every now and then.
We hve to do job and we can not be at home. But daily jorney to office is very risky for us.
We dont know what will happen to us and when.
Is realy anybody is there who will really think to solve this problem for us??
Fix one number on which a grl can do message or call on helpline nuber specially for girls and there will be someone who can reach us within no time to save us.
Is it possible???
Regards,
One of the victim among all my sisters who has faced dis in there life
Salute to this brave girl! I nearly wept while reading this.
It’s such a shame that women, girls, in our country are not even safe in public transport and public places.
It’s a shame that women are still considered inferior to men and seen as a sex object by some evil minded people.
It’s a shame that a crime as serious as rape still happening and rapists get away with it in many cases with their money and power.
I fully stand by her, rapists, if found guilty, need to be penalized death. This is how we can create fear in their evil mind. Even, death would be a small punishment for them, since it’s not just a girl who suffers from it, it also affects the lives of her family. All the teasers and gropers should be punished, too, (not death, but severely) so they never ever repeat it again. It’s high time we stop taking this issue for granted.
With that being said, we need to find a proper system to determine whether the crime was committed or not to prevent innocents from being punished. There’s no way a guilty rapist should get away with his crime, though.
It’s also a shame that some people blame clothing for this crime, women in saree and burkha have been raped, girls in salwar have been raped, heck even poor 6 year olds have suffered from this crime. They have right to wear anything they want, girls in western countries are safer than here, even though they wear more revealing outfits than girls in India (not promoting western culture though). We don’t have right to even touch her without her permission. It’s our fault if we can’t control our hormones. Furthermore, this stereotype mentality should have gone years ago. We are all free to wear anything we are comfortable with, as long as we hide our private parts (i.e. geni*als and ni**les). Rapists don’t care about what a woman/girl is wearing, they just commit this crime like hungry dogs when they see a chance to do so, mostly in secluded areas.
It’s our responsibility as a human to prevent girls from this crime if possible, it could be your sister, mother, wife, too. Take a stand if someone is teasing a girl in front of you, start from your own street. Make sure a girl is free and safe to roam in your street at night.
It will be a shame if we can’t even do that as a human.
Some of the rapists are found drunk and out of their mind while committing this crime, so Government should also keep in mind the side affects of alcohol, it is banned in Gujarat, I would welcome the decision to ban it in all the parts of the country. It’s high time we seriously introduce some strict laws in practice to help remove this crime, death penalty to guilty is must.
Salute to the lady Shenaaz
I am fully with her, I feel imposing strict law as like of GCC Gulf countries is nothing a big issue in fact this should be done here but at the same time my request to all the girls and also our law, it should bring in a little strict law for the attire on women as well so that in days to come our sisters, daughters, mothers, wives will not have to come through all this bullshit we are in 2015 another 15days now . . . .
Shenaz, my sincere thanks to you for being one of the VERY FEW CELEBRITIES who have stood up for this cause.
Celebrities in India, male or female, are INFLUENTIAL TO NO END in India. They are unparalleled in their influence over the masses, the very people who commit these absolutely heinous crimes. Yet, with this being such a pressing cause, only a handful of celebrities have actually ever stood for the cause.
Thank you, Shenaz, for standing for the cause, OUR cause. I stay in Bangalore, and have been groped so many times. As have many many others I know. Boys have slapped by bum very very hard while on a moving bike, in broad daylight. Or, a bike would stop behind me, someone would say ‘Hi’ and by the time I’d have turned, my breasts would be squeezed very hard and the molester would escape before my I’d even have registered what had happened, or my shock had worn off. And the bruises such incidents leave speak for themselves, how much it hurts emotionally and physically, to be molested.
Standbyers see these crimes being committed in front of them, many times in broad daylight, only to turn a blind eye. Never bothering to help, at least in my experience. And the combined (long-lasting) feeling of intense shame and anger, after it, would be difficult to express in words to anyone, male or female, who has been lucky to have not gone through it.
I could not support you more in you cause. On my behalf, if there’s any possibility of my voice being heard, I implore other celebrities to please take up this cause too. You are in a position to make yourself be heard. That’s priceless.
And also, please please stop showing women as sex objects dancing and responding to cheap and demeaning lyrics in our Indian movies, in whichever language. Celebrities, You may not realize it or be affected by it, but these portrayals really really affect me, and all Indian women. If you’re not doing anything specific for the cause, at least please do not hurt us more by acting or being a part of any such role.
I do not mean any disrespect to any of the celebrities, but come to think of it, you do deserve disrespect if you continue to act and dance and be a part of such absolutely sexist and demeaning songs, even after everything that women in India are going through.
PLEASE HELP US. YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO. PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE OUR SINCERE PLEAS. PLEASE COME TO OUR HELP.
Really true shehnaz.
It has been high time. there should b chng in our laws.
specially for rape nd molestation.
We are blindly following the same laws that were made
by britishers before independence even after 67 yrs
Of independence.
Its true that if cricketers or filmstars can do ads to promote
Brands for money, they should come forward to raise their
Voice against these type of social issues.because mass
Follow them.
Nd we expect a lot from namo.
@Handsome4hotty2
Your name suggests that you are a real asshole. You should not be given permission to reproduce lol. If i was pm i would have killed you first.
– feel so proud for Not being an indian……
Honestly saying man,how can ppl be so bad in a country….
Go indians, make ur country ‘mad dog’ free first then go for the development….
yeah u r quietly right, we r living in 21st century n talking about economical develment , high growth rate, to make india a super power in the world etc.etc. but no body talking about our half of populatoin who r facing a unndeclared war against her by whole comunity of men”s. there is a cruel war ongoing in our houses, at bus stands, railway stations, streets n everywhere where women”s live. is it not a national same for all of us who calling ourself “civilised”?.dear shenaj i agree with ur letter except one thing (ur coclution or solution u r giving to overcame it) i think it is not question of law n order, it is the question of patriarchy,which give right’s to men to rule women by economical, social,cultural domination. by our custums,religius activity etc.it mean whole social economical structure is taking side of men’s in this undeclare war.so, i think our fight should not be only against any indiusual instead against patriarchy.we must punish offenders but target it’s root n it is patriarchy.