The time was a little past 7 p.m. It was all dark and there was a slight drizzle as well. I got down from my bus and crossed the road to walk home. I was carrying my hand bag, my lunch bag in one hand and holding my umbrella with the other. It’s only about a 50m walk to my home from the main road.
I entered the road and it was all dark and no one was on the road except for a man in a black helmet and a black jacket standing next to a motorbike looking at his phone. I kept walking and the man asked me if this was the Bangalawatta Road. I said yes and kept walking. I walked about 10 steps and I could hear fast footsteps behind me. Just as I turned to see, this man got hold of me and started harassing me. I lost my balance and fell down and was shrieking to get someone to help me.
Luckily, I heard a door opening and the sound of a dog and the man ran away and got into his bike and fled. By the time I got up, it was too late to notice the number plate of the bike. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it even had a number plate because everything was so dark.
I was shaking and tearing up. By now a few people came out and asked me what happened. I was struggling to find words and the only thing I could do was to cry.
I ran home to my mother and cried all that I wanted and went back with her to check with the houses nearby to see if any of them had a CCTV which might have the incident on record so that I could trace the bastard. I was devastated to know that no one had a CCTV and I had no way of taking any action against the sick pervert!
Mind you, I was fully covered, wearing an office pant and a long sleeved blouse wth collars. So aunties who question the way us girls dress, don’t you dare tell me it’s a problem about how we wear! We should be able to walk naked in the road and still be safe! It’s the sick, sexually frustrated mindset of the men! And the dysfunctional system of justice in the country!!!
You can’t go in a bus or train without being groped and you privileged men and women who have vehicles to get everywhere you want to, and see only one side of the society, don’t come and tell me that there’s no sexual harassment happening in this country! You can’t walk along a road without being catcalled! And now, they even have the guts to just come and touch your body also!
It’s a curse being born a girl in a country like this! Lonely Planet, I’m sorty but you’re wrong! No, this isn’t the best tourist destination in the world. The tourists who come here are not safe from these perverts! It used to be the paradise island, the pearl of the Indian Ocean and all. But now it’s just an ugly, dark spot in the Indian Ocean. I’m writing this, but I’m still shaking and tearing up. I don’t know how long it would take for me to overcome the trauma. But I know one thing for sure, පින් කෙත හෙල ලක් දෙරණේ යලි උපදින්නට හේතු වාසනා නම් එපා!
My thoughts 