Editor’s note: Kavya Kriti, 23, an expatriate from New Delhi, India, has been living and working in Kuala Lumpur for the past seven months. On Sept 6, she lodged a police report against a taxi driver for punching her in the face and head multiple times just in front of the Petronas Twin Towers. We understand that the taxi driver has since been sentenced to jail and fined.
Kavya reached out to us to have her story published. Here, she narrates the shocking incident that took place the night she and her friends went looking for a cab in the heart of KL.
What do you get for standing up for yourself to a cab driver in the bustling city centre of Kuala Lumpur?
Catcalled, verbally abused, and ruthlessly assaulted might not be the first answer that comes to your head, but this was the answer I received a few weeks back. You might be thinking that there is more to the story or something that I’m not telling you. Kuala Lumpur is a modern city after all; this couldn’t just happen to anybody, right? Would you be surprised if I told you that this was all because I refused to pay a ridiculously inflated cab fare?
If you are, you shouldn’t be.
I got punched in the head and face multiple times right in the heart of KL for simply standing up to a bunch of taxi drivers who decided to degrade and debase me after I refused to pay the obscene flat rate they proposed.
I started to walk away after they refused my proposal to go by the meter. Sounds just business as usual, right? Wrong. It seems they weren’t ok with the fact that a woman snubbed them, so what ensued was a barrage of catcalls and insults based on what I was wearing. “Strange” I thought, walking away with my friend as the aggression grew with every step we took. I don’t deserve this.
Eventually, I decided to turn around and confront the guy. I was not going to let him dehumanise me at his free will. Not because I didn’t want to pay an absurd price for a 10-minute ride and definitely not because I was wearing something that looked good on me as on my way out for a fun night with some friends.
READ: Women’s groups praise Indian expat for standing up against bully KLCC cabbies
I walked back to this guy and gave him a piece of my mind. I told him exactly what I thought of him and his backward views on how he should treat a woman. Of course, he didn’t like that. Not one bit.
Next thing I know, he’s swearing and threatening to show me my place, looking all tough in front of his cab driver buddies. “I’m going to hit you” he yells, unable to bear the fact that I didn’t budge from my spot and engaged him in a verbal duel instead. I guess this is the moment when us women are supposed to step back and protect ourselves. This must be what he’s used to when dealing with the “inferior” sex.
That’s when I got my first taste of his fists. And the next one too. And the next, and the next…
This turned into a massive altercation and I refused to back off. Instead I fought back with all my might. By this time both of us were raining blows on each other and the other taxi drivers had joined in seeing that I was not running away or stopping.
Yes, I punched back. Was it smart? Probably not. Was it human? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
A security guy from KLCC had seen this and come over to check out what was happening. I explained what happened. Then went on to add “wear decent clothes, men will call out otherwise”. Also, he asked me and my friend if we were drunk, because according to him only drunk women raise their voices, the decent ones just take the shit as it comes. All the taxi drivers, around eight of them smirked at this, lit a cigarette and patted him on the back.
Yep, that’s the solution isn’t it? Girls don’t look good, you’re inviting trouble. You asked for it. It’s their birthright to call you out and tease you, if they can’t control themselves.
I asked that waste of space of a man to leave and take his judgments with him to hell, guess it didn’t go down with him. “Call the cops if you have so much problem or wear better clothes” he yelled at me before walking off.
During this entire episode my friend was distressed and shouted for help and not a single person intervened. This was the main street right in front of the Petronas Twin Towers, swarms of tourist were walking around and tons of security from the buildings were around. Yet, no one interfered. That’s ok, these things happen, we should not get involved.
The bottom line is, I had a swollen face, bruises on my head and neck. I got hit and I hit back. The guy attacked me twice, second time because we dared to click pictures of the cab’s number plate to lodge a police complaint. Perhaps also because when he attacked me again, I refused to run away and back off, that I didn’t care whether he burnt me with a cigarette in one hand and rained blows on me with the other. I just hit back with all my might.
An hour later, I lodged a police report and followed the whole process to the T. It’s the minimum this situation demands and I know of no other way, least of all to shove it at the back of my head as an unpleasant experience that should be forgotten.
But what does all of this have with you?
As I reflect on the incident and write this article, memories of that night fresh in my mind, the pain and agony take a stab at me again. I look back at the whole episode and just like all of us have a tendency to think “Recipe for disaster” right? No.
It’s an opportunity to speak up about much deeper issues that plague the fabric of our society and everyday living, that give birth to such incidents. It is about the steep biases and gender based harassment that affects millions of women everyday as they walk the streets and they are taught to ignore it.
It’s about us being ok with catcalls and treating it as normal everyday occurrence. It’s about the confidence with which cab drivers refuse to run by the meter after 6 pm and ask for exorbitant prices, like that’s the law. It’s about the numerous expats that have had such bitter experiences as they embrace a new country. It’s about the bystanders, who can witness a woman being beaten up in public and not interfere. It’s about the fear that has been pumped down their throats lest they speak up and the fact that they feel as helpless as the victims.
That’s what this incident to me is really about. Not a random unfortunate occurrence, but a culmination of these deep attitudes that exist within all of us and the role we play in keeping the situation as it is, including me.
Which is why today I write to YOU. YOU, whoever you are, wherever you are from and whatever injustice small or big you have faced so far. I see this as an opportunity to do what’s right and I want you to know that there is an alternative. Stand up, speak out and fight for yourself. I don’t want you to put yourself at risk, I want you to realize what part YOU play in this situation and how you can help.
Yes, it’s easier to walk away but not better. Because if we cannot participate in the process of shaping this world, then we deserve it as it is. Let no one get the message that this is ok. Get up and fight till the fight doesn’t exist anymore.
I know some of you are thinking right now that its very difficult and impractical to actually implement such an attitude in real time situations. That things can get dangerous and there are real implications to consider. I agree with you, and I don’t advocate provocation, but I do not advocate shutting up in the face of smaller injustices to only see them get bigger as our lives pass us by either.
But know that most times, our first reactions are not our own fears, but the fear that has been fed to us by caring friends, concerned parents and a media system that propagates “Self protection” over “Retaliation”.
Keep quiet, don’t get involved, ignore and walk away cause there is no resolution to the situation. They are not rational human beings, they don’t understand logic, they aren’t in touch with their own humanity, so no point fighting. It won’t do any good, right?
Wrong.
Because when we stop standing up for ourselves, we are NOT protecting ourselves. WE are only encouraging an attitude that puts us, our sisters, mothers, friends and loved ones at more risk. WE are letting them assume that there are no consequences, we tell them that you can do this and get away with it. WE hand the power over to them.
WE are giving a message to not just the people involved in the situation but to the bystanders, to the onlookers and to everyone who reads an article on this in the media later that it is OK. That someone can de-humanize you any time and you will not react.
I am alive and I do not intend to stay silent. Not for me, not for you. I will be following all the legal procedures required to give a fitting response to those people and I will do everything in my capacity to make sure tomorrow my loved ones do not face the same.
If this resonates with you and you want to help, here’s what you can do:
- Share the article. With awareness will come action
- Use hashtags #erranttaxidrivers #getupandfight #saynotocatcalls #klccnotsafe #mindswithoutfear
- Avoid taking cabs from this area, the cabs here are poach the space on the road, are not authorized by KLCC and never go by the meter. They all also operate together even if they stand in different locations.
- Lastly, if you ever face a similar situation I urge you to not be a silent spectator, no good can ever come out of staying shut in the face of challenges
As next steps, I will be lodging a complaint with KLCC administration and SPAD to ensure these errant cab drivers are removed and security in the area is tightened. It is important they face repercussions for their actions, for only then will they be forced to assess their actions and realize that they are part of the system, not the other way around.
Finally, if you’ve stayed with me so far I want to thank you for lending an ear, for actually giving a damn and having the courage to speak up. And I hope this incident reminds you that we always have a choice, that this world is as much ours as anyone else’s and so no one has the right to treat us as second class citizens and violate our humanity. I hope you remember that our rights will only cease to exist, if we let go of them.
And that my friends, would be the best response I can give to the world when it slaps me in the face. For standing up, for being a woman and not giving in to double standards.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Gandhi
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