98. Yes, we cannot let it go

It was truly horrifying to see Mexico’s most powerful woman, and the President, Claudia Sheinbaum, being groped by a drunken man. 

As she walked through the crowd, a man attempted to kiss her on the neck and embraced her from behind. She then removed his hands, and an aide intervened.

I saw it on television, so there was clear proof, and you could see the man moving toward her, first placing his right hand on her shoulder and then trying to grope her.

It was utterly humiliating, leaving me furious and enraged. It reminded me of Delhi buses in the 1980s and 90s, where girls experienced this daily on their way to school.

If I talk about those decades, that doesn’t mean things are different now.

The incident has caused outrage among women worldwide, not just in Mexico.

The president confronted a problem that thousands of women face daily in public and at work—incidents of assault and unwanted touching that violate their bodies.

Sheinbaum was initially reported to have tried to overlook the incident in early media reports. However, as public outrage grew, she remarked, “This is something I experienced as a woman, but it is something all women in our country go through. If I don’t report it, what does that mean for all Mexican women? If they do this to the president, what happens to the rest of the women in the country?”

Imagine if the president were assaulted despite such high-level protection; it suggests that any woman could be assaulted at any moment.

For Mexico, this wasn’t something new. It is known to be a famicidal country. Femicide refers to the sex/gender-related killings of women and girls. 

Media reports indicate that women in the country are facing severe violence, and in the first six months of this year, over 500 women were murdered because of their gender.

However, similar to our country, a bunch of moron politicians are found everywhere, as the leader of the main opposition party said that it appears to be a staged act intended to divert public attention from cartel violence. 

And we used to believe that only our politicians were foolish enough to require Saboot (proof) for everything, even military actions.

I believe that no country in the world, including India, is different from Mexico regarding women’s safety and the presence of irresponsible and foolish politicians.