I’ve unfortunately been subjected to several harassment incidents.
All verbal harassment.
I never stood up for myself.
I was too shy to raise my voice.
I was 15 years old when I was physically harassed for the first time.

I was on a bus with my mother and older sister.
The bus was empty, but there was a man standing next to me.
I found his penis next to my shoulder.
I couldn’t understand what was going on.
“Sit down, sir. There are plenty of free seats,”
The passenger sitting behind me told him.
“I’m getting off soon,” he said.
I usually hold my keys in my hand.
I shoved the key into his hand when I understood what was happening.
Then I pushed him away and told him to back off.
He got off the bus in a hurry.

I added a nail to my keychain after that incident.
Now I’m just waiting for anyone to come near me.

I’ve come to realize that people who don’t react to harassment are prey for harassers.
I’m more prone to harassment than someone who wears revealing clothing because I wear a long veil and loose clothes.
And because I always avoid eye contact.
Now I curse whoever verbally harasses me.
The harasser is usually the only one who can hear me.
I say it when he comes close to me, which is when he gets shocked and leaves.
The latest incident was with a man who was older than my grandfather.
He was older than 70.
I cursed him and he walked away.

It’s not exclusive to men or adolescents.
I’ve seen strange incidents where the harassers were no older than 10 years old.
One time, my sister and her friend were walking in front of me.
Four children were walking towards them,
And they put their hands on my sister’s lower back.
I got a hold of one of them and slapped him on the face.
To my surprise, one of them cursed me:
“You whore!”
I had just shouted at another man, so I got even angrier.
I kept slapping and cursing him.
No one said a word even though this happened in public.

Unfortunately, everything that is happening in my life has made me feel like I’m not feminine.
I curse at people now and I don’t go out.