NEW DELHI: Two Indian sisters were showered with praise and cash on Monday after a video of them thrashing three alleged molesters on a moving bus was widely replayed.
Arti and Pooja Kumar, aged 22 and 19, were harassed by the men on a crowded bus last week while returning to their home in Rohtak, a district of largely rural Haryana state that borders New Delhi.
The sisters, using their belts and their hands, were seen attacking the men who were also grabbing and shoving other women in the aisle while other passengers looked on.
Police arrested the men on Sunday night after mobile phone footage, shot by a pregnant fellow passenger, was uploaded on social media and replayed on India’s multiple 24 hour news channels.
Although many praised the girls’ bravery, others were scathing of the other passengers. Some of them were seen sniggering as the attacks took place.
“Hats off to #RohtakBravehearts](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=RohtakBravehearts) . N I despise such men who just sat and watched everything happening,” one posted on Twitter.
Braveheart was the term given by the media to the 23-year-old student who died after being gang-raped on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.
The horrific attack sparked international outrage, street protests and a round of soul-searching in India about its treatment of women.
Some hoped the latest incident would inspire others to rise up against so-called eve teasing, a euphemism for harassment that women in India endure on an almost daily basis.
“Go brave girls! #girlrising](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=girlrising) and wake up bystanders! Its shameful, the only one who intervened was a pregnant woman!,” said actress Freida Pinto, star of “Slumdog Millionaire”.
“Bravo! #RohtakBravehearts](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=RohtakBravehearts) 4 standing up against eve teasing. Hope you become role models for all girls who want to stand up against #eveteasing](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=eveteasing) , “another tweet said.
Rohtak police spokesman Ved Singh Nain promised a speedy investigation into the incident on Friday, after the women said the men started abusing them when they rejected their advances.
“On the bus, they made obscene gestures, touched us and abused us,” Pooja told NDTV news channel on Monday.
“We could not take it any more and started beating them. One of the men grabbed my sister’s hand and the other held me by the neck. That is when my sister took out her belt and started beating them,” she said.
Haryana Chief Minister M.L Khattar announced a cash reward for the women of 31,000 rupees ($500) each, saying he hoped the publicity would sensitise others to the issue.
“The kind of work that has been done by these two girls is praiseworthy, “Khattar told reporters.
shame on the passengers who did not bother or did not feel that it’s their moral duty to come to the aid of sisters. the driver and the conductor of the bus must be arrested for their criminal negligence.
the men must be arrested ASAP and punished to the fullest of law and their pictures posted all over in the area like a wanted man’s picture is published.
in teenoN ko sab se pahle pakaR kar, inke baat kaaT kar, chappaloN jootoN kaa haar pahnaa kar aur muNh kaalaa kar ke ghadhe par ulTaa baandh ke gadhe ko saare gaaoN meN ghumaayaa jaaye.
The TV news reader states there were 3 eve teasers attacking the girls.
Only 1 was involved as far as I could tell.
The video does not show eve teasing. Clearly it was filmed AFTER the alleged eve testing.
The newsreader states none of the passengers helped the girls or intervened.
WRONG. The guy in white jacket tried to separate the boy from the girls. The girls, who at the point, we’re not in danger, we’re the aggressors (maybe justifiably). But clearly they didn’t need “rescuing”
The reader states the boy (or boys) hit the girls.
I saw him pushing them away. Trying to defend himself. The girls landed punches. And a few kicks to his stomach.
This is why its important to segregate transportations based on gender. It would prevent the harassment and other fithna related to free mixing. Also this is why Muslim women cover properly to prevent these incidents from happening, and in Islam a Muslim male relative is required to accompany his female relative if she is to travel.
Erm in Islam a mehram/male relative is only required if the female is travelling** over a certain distance**, not if she wants to go to her local shopping centre or grab a coffee with some friends in town.. Muslim women used to ride camels on their own after all.. Don’t know why it’s so difficult for “some” Muslims to undestand that segregation and/or being covered doesn’t necessarily stop harrassment either.. You only need to open your eyes and see what happens in parts of the Middle East, Pakistan, India etc.
shame on the passengers who did not bother or did not feel that it’s their moral duty to come to the aid of sisters. the driver and the conductor of the bus must be arrested for their criminal negligence.
the men must be arrested ASAP and punished to the fullest of law and their pictures posted all over in the area like a wanted man’s picture is published.
in teenoN ko sab se pahle pakaR kar, inke baat kaaT kar, chappaloN jootoN kaa haar pahnaa kar aur muNh kaalaa kar ke ghadhe par ulTaa baandh ke gadhe ko saare gaaoN meN ghumaayaa jaaye.
Ridiculous. Create strict punishments and enforce them then nothing will happen. I’ve ridden buses in the US with dodgy characters no one ever touched me.
I don’t think law and enforcement will solve it. This is a symptom of a deeper problem. We teach our boys that girls are somehow inferior them. It happens all over the East not just in muslim countries. Till we change that mindset and attitude, nothing will happen.
Once punishments and strict enforcement comes about these families will have no choice but to teach their boys to behave. Happens when these very families move to America and other such countries where there ARE consequences. When their sons or others’ sons get in trouble for sexual harassment, it is made clear to the family and their boys that no one gives a *** about their “cultural” ideas. You sit on a bus in the US, you don’t get up and grab some girl, you will get arrested, and probably will get lynched by other people on that bus.
What are OYMWA and PCG talking about. In this video it is the girls who are beating up the guy. No one was even interviewed to determine what happened?
