Catcalling is not gantle

Why should women feel uncomfortable whenever they are walking in the street or using public transportation?

Realize or not most women are forced to face the harassment almost every day because of the annoying behavior called “catcalling.” For the offender maybe “catcalling” is a funny joke, but for the victim it feels embarrassing and even can cause trauma.

First, what is catcalling?

Women, I believe you have the experience like this, when you are walking alone, then a crowd of people teases you with irreverent words, Like “hei girl, where are you going?”, “why you just walking alone?” and so one.  Well, it’s totally not funny. And to discuss about catcalling is not something that exaggerate.

Why catcalling is dangerous and can’t be ignored?

Catcalling shows how men are not respect to women. When they say those worlds it means they assume the victims are lower or weaker than them. Just imagine you will never brave to say the irreverent words to someone that you are respect you only do that to people that you think smaller than you.

If you need prove just see if women walking alone from the Jogja Plaza hotel to our campus. Taxi driver, construction workers even men in suit will catcalled women they usually shouting :   “hey nice thigh!”, “how sexy you are”  those words tells that the offender has the right to label and comment on women body, and of course that is  not a compliment, that is condescending.

Ladies and gentlemen catcalling is dangerous. Catcalling can be more extreme if we just ignored that. I have the experience about that.

One night when I was walking down at Pringgodani in front of ESCO restaurant with my friend Odel. Suddenly we felt a motorcycle going slowly behind us and there was a guy made a “ssssss…sssss” sound, I looked back and just tried to ignore but suddenly he rode the motorcycle so fast and spanked my boot. I want to be angry but on the other hand there is a sense of shamed for feeling abused. You can see catcalling just make women feel powerless.

When I asked some people to know their opinion about this case, most of them say that women should keep the way they are using a dress so they did not become the victim.  Is that true? Is that solve the problem? Hmm, my friend who using hijab is still be the victim of catcalling, and when I went out with the oversized t-shirt they still teased me with the embarrassing words.  So it doesn’t not matter with my dress. 

Other said, just keep it yourself don’t mind their words. Just let it go. I think it’s okay when you are walking alone because it’s impossible to fight them back and it’s just spend your energy

But the problem of catcalling is more than that, is not just about how to avoid catcalling but how to stop catcalling. 

I believe catcalling only stop when we brave to talk and move, don’t be shame to share the story, the one who should be shame is the offender not the victim because that show how loser they are. By sharing your story it means you help and tried to empower each other.   For the men who siting here I believe you are not belong to those kind of those men because the offender of catcalling are always uneducated people, but you men as our friends help us to surround this things and tried to talked to your friends your siblings  and said “gentlemen are never do catcalling.” 

Thank you.