Strength TogetHER 8- Session 5
November 20, 2021
Strength TogetHER is a virtual program facilitated by 'LOKOPAKAR', a youth organization that has achieved to provide a space and platform for individuals (especially girls and young women) to share their stories, experiences and their issues and find solutions within themselves.
On November 20,2021 , the 5th session of Cohort 8 was conducted on the topic “Our Stories On Harassment” with the active participation of 11 girls which took place via zoom at 4:00 pm. Our moderator was Sadikshya Maharjan. She is currently in her final year of BA.LLB & in addition to that she had worked as a research fellow for UNDP- Parliament Support Project and had also participated in Asia Pacific Youth Internet Governance Forum 2021.
Our session started with the introduction of the moderator and topic. Then our speakers kept forward many stories and instances relating to the topic.
1. Our first speaker told us about the different kinds of harassment and also kept forwarding the story of her close friend who fell victim to it. She also emphasized how common it has become for every girl to face issues like catcalling. She considered herself lucky as she hasn't faced any extreme scar for life form of harassment. She concluded with an idea of how just being there for the victim can help them heal.
2. Our second speaker told us her story of 2 years ago when two men stared at her from top to bottom which made her extremely scared and uncomfortable. She felt really insecure, disgusted & also unsatisfied about the fact that she didn't stand up for herself at that time. She also expressed her strong detestation for those people who harass young girls and also told us that the upcoming generation must not face what girls are facing now.
3. Our third speaker kept forwarding the story of herself. She explained how a man who was way older than she herself exposed himself in front of her and she saw something that would hunt her for the rest of her life. She told the listeners about the fact that she was extremely scared and didn't know what she was supposed to do. It happened to her when she was very young and that too in a very familiar environment in broad daylight. She told us that she still remembers that day and it still haunts her.
4. Our last speaker told us that she was grateful that she didn't face any extreme form of harassment. However, she had cousins who might have been victims of harassment from their own father. She feels bad about her helplessness in this situation.
We also got many wise & insightful words from our moderator, which are as follows:
1. She told us about her own stories of harassment and how she stood up for it which gave everyone courage to be stronger.
2. She made us aware about different laws which might come in handy if we ever face issues relating to this again.
3. She also told us how much harassment has become in our current society.
4. She told us to not feel guilty about not standing up but also encouraged us to be courageous when it happens.
In this process of knowing each other, sharing each other’s stories, the session provided a kind of homely warmth. We left the session with a feeling of being validated and strong as individuals after sharing our stories.
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