An Afghan artist Kubra Khademi wore an armoured suit and displayed it on the streets of Kabul to protest and highlight the problems of sexual harassment faced by women today. According to an interview, the Afghan woman stated that she wished her underwear was made of iron. Though the woman could not get a positive response except insulting remarks, teasing and taunting, but the protest and her apprehension have left an important message for every body that women in our society are highly insecure, unsafe and are facing numerous challenges in life. Regardless of age and religion, she endures molestation, verbal abuses, unwanted touching, sexual harassment and rape constantly.
Wearing an armoured suit is not going to stop sexual attacks and rapes, but there is no denying that a woman is a mother, a wife, a daughter and a sister. Nobody likes that anyone of his family members are being raped or assaulted. Despite the fact, there are numerous women who are sexually assaulted and raped on a daily basis all around the world.
Rape not only spoils the whole life of a woman but also deprives her from an active social and economic participation. Some of the psychological and health effects that occur in someone who have been sexually assaulted include acute depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, loss of trust, anxiety, humiliation, and ostracised from professional or academic circles.
Sexual assault, as we all know, is an appalling and unlawful act that has to be prosecuted. Rapists can be held back if they fear that they would be punished rigorously without the discrimination and leniency.
It is deplorable that the rules protecting women are not observed or implemented strictly in many parts of the world and that is precisely what has to change.
— The reader is a Pakistani office manager based in Dubai
