Bengaluru woman shares how her daughter confronted street harassers in viral post

In a post on X, a Bengaluru woman recalled how her daughter courageously confronted two men on a bike who harassed her while she was waiting to cross the road.

In Short

• A Bengaluru woman praised her daughter's response to street harassment
• She recalled the incident in a post on X that has gone viral
• Her daughter confronted the harassers, who fled the scene

A Bengaluru-based woman shared an inspiring account of her daughter’s fearless response to street harassment.

In a post on X, Poornima Prabhu recalled how her daughter courageously confronted two men on a bike who harassed her while she was waiting to cross the road, only 800 metres from their home.

“Last week, my 20-plus daughter was waiting to cross the road..about 800m from our home in Bengaluru when two boys on a bike heckled her,” she said.

Prabhu said that her daughter’s initial instinct was to ignite the hecklers, but instead, she chose to act.

“Her initial reaction was to walk away, but then she decided to act. She shouted at them and ran towards them. They took off on the bike as if the devil was pursuing them,” she said in the post.

Prabhu expressed pride and admitted that at her daughter’s age, she would likely have just “looked down and walked away.”

Prabhu shared that her daughter was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and ankle-length trousers as she addressed the common tendency to judge women based on their attire.

She further urged other women to voice their objections in such situations.

Take a look at her post here:

The post garnered support from other social media users. One of the users recalled their own confrontations with harassers in the past: “So, I did this way back in the 80s. Kicked and punched fellows bothering us on buses. Screamed back at hecklers. Generally, I think we were a little bold, or maybe the repercussions weren't as bad as we are hearing now. But good on you for raising your daughter right.”

“Kudos, but too dangerous. They could have retaliated. With all the news about road rage incidents, it seemed best to just avoid it and take a different route,” a user said, while another added, “It’s about giving expression to the natural reaction that upsurges in such situations. Kudos to your girl.”

See the comments here:

Prabhu, in another post, addressed the concerns about safety: “We’ve told them [their children] clearly about the how, when, and what of reacting... And how to keep themselves safe. Unless such people understand that girls are not going to take it silently, they will get emboldened even more.”

The now-viral post triggered a discussion on the importance of women standing up against harassment and ensuring that silence does not enable unacceptable behaviour.