I just lately got here throughout a put up a few woman getting harassed by some males whereas visiting the Khunjerab Cross. Principally, a woman who was travelling together with her husband through a journey group was cornered and compelled to take selfies with a gaggle of males who thought there was no hurt in committing such an atrocity. I couldn’t assist however admire the girl’s bravery for she took photos of the boys and ensured that they went viral. That’s one thing my mates and I couldn’t do once we had been harassed virtually each day at roughly the identical time whereas travelling to Skardu.
It began in Naran, once we had been sexually objectified, pushed and touched towards our will. Strolling down a wonderfully spacious Naran Bazar turned troublesome as males saved bumping into us. We needed to improve our tempo once we realized a person had began following us. We couldn’t even sit within the lodge’s courtyard with out getting ran into, touched and commented on by random males. Let’s not even get began on the fixed stares that we acquired.
Shifting ahead, we thought the harassment would finish. Naran, in any case, is a bit too business now and all kinds of individuals have entry to the as soon as stunning hamlet. We had been mistaken. Stopping at a small dhaba like restaurant for breakfast at Juglot, one in every of our fellow vacationers was greeted by an ‘I like you’ by one of many employees whereas one other had her shoulder grabbed by the identical man. We nonetheless remained optimistic. Skardu could be higher.
The attractive metropolis of Skardu greeted us with its big mountains, its stunning forts and its creepy vacationers. A good friend and I had some free time one morning and we determined to stroll by the market to discover town. We barely managed to stroll for five minutes earlier than being compelled to return to our lodge room as a result of random automobiles began stopping by us and providing us ‘lifts’. We couldn’t discover town. Throughout a go to to a waterfall, we acquired adopted by a gaggle of males to the extent that none of images might be uploaded since they’ve random males in them. Our concern of strolling over a picket bridge was exploited by these males who, once we went up the bridge, discovered it amusing to shake the bridge leaving us crippled with concern. One of many ladies additionally acquired requested to pose for a selfie with a person she had by no means seen earlier than.
Deosai needed to be totally different, we thought. Removed from civilization, this breathtaking place isn’t very simply accessible. We dressed up good for we needed to pose for superb photos within the Land of Giants. Little did we all know that we might find yourself combating with a man for taking photos of us with out our consent.
All by this time, I couldn’t assist however discover one factor; all of the harassment besides the one incident in Juglot came about by the hands of vacationers, not locals. The locals, who we imagine to be ‘conservative’ had been welcoming and accepted us the way in which we had been. They didn’t ogle us, they didn’t stumble upon us. The locals didn’t wish to be a part of our selfies, one thing we revered too. The locals didn’t harass me after I needed to maintain my information’s hand all through a quite scary trek. They didn’t harass us when two of us considerably misplaced our means. It was the vacationers. Males from large cities, who’re believed to be extra ‘liberal’ had been those harassing us.
The truth that the woman took photographs of the boys harassing her and made them viral is one thing that should be extremely appreciated. If each woman began doing that, this harassment would come to an finish. In fact, it takes a number of braveness to have the ability to take out your digicam in that second however I imagine that’s one thing all Pakistani ladies must do so as to have the ability to get pleasure from ourselves whereas we’re on trip. Pakistan has among the most stunning locations on earth; our experiences at these locations shouldn’t be tarnished by these criminals.
