Crimes against women are on a rise not only in India but all through the world. On a regular basis, we stumble upon disgraceful incidents which give us an indication that humanity is in danger and if strict actions are not taken, such crimes may take a dangerous shape and then no one will be able to control them. Rape cases were already making it difficult for women to step outside their home without fear and now what happened in Turkey has worsened the situation.
We all know that Ramadan is considered a holy month during which Muslims observe fast. But to what extent is it correct to force religiousness on others? Recently, a Pak journalist was badly thrashed for drinking water inside the mosque during Ramadan and now a 21-yr girl student named Asena Melisa Saglam had been beaten up by a stranger for wearing shorts during this pious month.
The incident took place in Turkey when she was traveling in a local bus and became a victim of religious intolerance. An anonymous man was sitting behind her and fumbling something; however, she ignored him. All of a sudden when the bus stopped, he assaulted the woman on her face. This naturally shocked her to a great extent and she made an attempt of retaliation. This time, the man became more violent with her; he pushed the girl and thrashed her once again prior to going out of the bus hurriedly.
As per AFP, the victim stated that she was verbally harassed by the man till he was there. He asked her not to wear shorts in Ramadan.
Here’s the video of the incident:
İstanbul Pendik'te şort giydiği için 21 yaşındaki Asena Melisa Sağlam'ı minibüste darp eden saldırganın görüntüleri ortaya çıktı. pic.twitter.com/7rn7BWDVlK
— Haberler.com (@Haberler) June 21, 2017
Click here to watch this video directly on Twitter
The video has gone viral for obvious reasons and this is what the victim said,
“From the moment, I sat down he was making these remarks ‘you dress like this during Ramadan? You should feel ashamed to be dressed like that’.”
On being interrogated, the accused said that he was ‘provoked’ by the girl’s shorts and in his opinion, wearing such clothes is no less than insulting Ramadan.
https://twitter.com/FEMEN_Turkey/status/877461576424591361
He was freed afterward and this created a situation of chaos and furor among Turkey’s women rights activists. We Will Stop Femicide Platform, an organization which works for women’s rights, took to Twitter and posted, “The release of the attacker is a threat to all women. We will wear whatever we want outside. We will not give up our freedoms.”
On account of the protest, the accused was again taken into custody and it was then revealed that he was detained since Sunday for drugs offences as well as a tax crime.
AFP reported that Turkey has witnessed more cases of violence against women in the recent years. From Jan 2017 to May 2017, there have been murder cases of 173 women, while in the year 2016, 328 women were killed. Where is the world heading? Is it marking the end of humanity?