Olympic Gold Medallist Mary Kom wrote an open letter to her Sons as part of the campaign #LetsTalkAboutRape in an attempt to make them realize sexual crimes and discrimination against women are unacceptable.
Mary Kom reveals she was molested when she was 17 by a stranger when he was on his way to a training camp in a rickshaw. She says women just don't deserve such kind of treatment and respect them when they say 'NO'.
The Medallist asks her sons to realize sexual crimes are punishable offences. She even advises them to reach out to the women who is in danger and most importantly learn to respect women.
Some of the excerpts from Mary Kom's Letter to her Sons:
Dear Sons,
Let's talk about rape. Let's talk about sexual crimes against women. Every single day, women are being stalked, molested and raped. You, my boys, are only nine-years old - and the youngest only three - but this is the age where we must sensitise ourselves to how we treat our women.
Let me start by telling you that your mother was molested, first in Manipur and then again while she was out with her girl friends in Delhi and Haryana's Hissar. I was on my way to my training camp at 8.30 in the morning in a cycle rickshaw when a stranger suddenly lunged at me and stroked my breast. I was angry, very angry. I leapt off the rickshaw and chased him, holding my slipper in my hand, but he managed to escape. My regret is that I could not catch him or the karate that I had already learnt by then, would have come in handy.
I was only 17-years-old then and am 33 now. I have brought great fame to my country and have been celebrated as a medallist but what I also want, is to be respected as a woman. Remember, dear sons, like you, we too have two eyes and a nose. Some parts of our bodies are different and that's the only thing that sets us apart. We don't deserve our breasts to be touched or our bums patted. That's what happened to my friends and me in Delhi and Hissar, while we were taking a walk outside our training camps.
I have never understood what pleasure men get when they touch us against our will. As you grow up, I want you to know, that molestation and rapes are crimes that deserve the strictest punishment. If you ever happen to see a young girl being teased, I urge you to reach out and help.
There are other words that you will hear soon. You might be walking with me one of these days to hear your mother being called a 'chinky'. That is racist. A lot of women from our State are targeted for the way they look and the way they dress. 'Chinkies' are not fair game.
My country has given me fame and recognition but I am not recognised by each person on the road - as an MS Dhoni or a Virat Kohli will most certainly be - but I do not deserve to be called 'chinky'.
Respect women when they say 'No'. Don't stalk them to death because they have said 'No'. Rape is not about sex; it is only about a misplaced sense of power and revenge.
We have often heard the explanation of 'boys will be boys'. Let's build a society where girls can be safe, secure and respected.
Yours
Mom
(Mary Kom, boxer and Rajya Sabha MP, is a mother of three boys aged 9 and 3)
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