The Social Butterfly's Garden

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Groped on International Women's Day

Many of you have been asking me about my disgust with cab drivers. For those of who you are interested to know and have nothing better to do that read blogs and notes, here's the story. March 8 commemorates International Women's day. That same sate also marks the day I got groped by a cab driver. Yes, you heard me; I got sexually molested by a freaky cab driver! Having to go through sexual harassment by itself is horrid, the fact that it happened to me on International Women's Day was the cherry, on top of the cream, on top of the icing, on top of the 3rd layer of the cake!
I had to take a cab to go to AUB, since my car all of a sudden decided to get paralyzed. I stopped a cab.. three people in the back seat.. I sit in the front. As always, I'm carrying bags.. lots of them.. so I sit back, relax, and wait for him to get me to AUB. One passenger leaves.. another one is picked up.. eventually, we are alone.. So there I am, laid back, and my backpack is on my lap. I can't remember when exactly, but I felt something move on the left side of my tummy.. I didn't think much of it.. I thought it was my backpack. Then, my backpack decided to start rubbing against my tummy.. and decided to move and tickle me.. and I thought to myself "hmmm… if I'm holding my bag tight, then how come it is moving.. and why on earth is it so warm?" that's when it hit me! IT WAS HIS HAND ON MY TUMMY! It never even occurred to me. I think I am way too naive sometimes, but I mean I didn't even think that a guy's hormones would be so worked up at 9 in the morning! I froze momentarily. I was hoping it wasn't what I thought it was.. hoping against hope. I jerked around, straightened my back, and glued myself to the side of my door, and there he was, desperately trying to pull his hand as quickly as he could back to his lap. It almost got stuck under the weight of the backpack, but it didn’t. I was numb. I wasn't scared, but I was in disbelief. I told him politely "I will get off here please". He pulled over. Luckily, I was close to AUB.
I spent a good portion of the morning in my office self-loathing. Then I thought of why anyone would do something as disgusting as that! I wondered if I had brought it upon myself, with my plain white shirt and my denim jacket. Then I consoled myself, thinking, some people got it worse. I felt most depressed when I thought that this thing happened to me on International Women's Day! A day in which the image of women as valuable contributors to a healthy society should be reinforced, I got a cab driver objectifying me and reminding me of my hidden charms and sex appeal! Regardless of how women dress, act.. regardless of whether I was veiled, young or old.. irrespective of the date, be it International Women's Day or just a plain idle Tuesday afternoon, some people lack fundamental notions of respect, dignity, and keeping their hands off places that don't belong to them! Sadly, I don't see the situation changing anytime soon, at least not with Rotana crunching twenty video-clips an hour, starring naked women getting groovy with men, horses and their hands!