A man is supposed to come and save you. What kind of nonsense is that? The same person who is a threat to us, specifically girls, is supposed to come and save us? Here is an experience I want to share. It's not depressing, but I hope it will give you a new perspective.

I had gone to the badminton court inside my colony. We normally have eight people playing, but that day, there were only two of us. Two guys who used to play with us were watching us from their balcony.

Moving on, three random boys came over the wall and asked us if they could join.

Obviously, we couldn't let three strangers in and also there was COVID-19. So, we politely said no, but they wouldn't budge. They kept standing there, watching us play. Having someone watch us play is nothing to get scared of, but we were. They seemed drunk and were whispering things to each other. Two girls versus three boys, what are the odds of anything good happening? There was a part of me wishing that the boys on the balcony would come down and scare those strangers away. But nothing happened, they kept looking at us from their balcony, and we were terrified of those three boys, who kept staring at us and whispering.

At a certain point, it came to me that the guys, the ones we played with, weren't going to come to our rescue. I asked myself, "Why am I waiting for them to come and protect me? Why can't I be my own hero? Why am I waiting for a man?" I didn't have an answer to any of those questions, but I was determined to save myself.

So, I brought a brick and a stick lying by the court and kept them there. I am not joking, I seriously did it. I thought, if anything were to happen, I could defend myself and run. Fortunately, nothing bad happened.

Those boys on the balcony could have easily come down and played with us, but they chose to watch us being teased.

So, there it is, we can't expect men to save us.

Yes, some nice men must be there, but we shouldn't depend on anyone. We have to save ourselves.

Yes, physically, men are stronger than females, but that doesn't mean we should depend on them. There are other things like stones, rocks and sticks, and if you can't find anything, hit them where it hurts most until they lie flat on the ground.

Why are we afraid of men? We grew up in a society where no man can be truly trusted. Yes, not even your father, your brother or your friend. We got to be there for ourselves, no one is going to come to our rescue.

And the sooner we realise that, the better it is.

In a world full of selfish beings, don't expect anything from anyone. Be your own superhero.