It's a big bad scary world out there

We ranked seventh on the list of most dangerous transport systems for women by Thomson Reuters Foundation.

See. This is why I don’t take the train or public bus anymore.

I was once a constant commuter. The last time I took a train was 10 years ago.

That day, I took the train from Sentral to Bukit Jalil to go to work. In the train, I sat across two gentlemen who looked polished in their office attire.

And then, at one of the stops, came in two Indonesians – males and in their late twenties. One of them has long hair and the other, short hair, afro.

I remember that day very vividly. The man with long hair sat on my left and the other on my right. They were talking and laughing at each other with me in the middle trying to ignore their halitosis.

Suddenly and very briefly, the long haired guy closed his eyes, as if pretending to sleep and leaned his head on my shoulder. I pushed his head away and yelled “excuse me!” and as soon as I turned, the other man groped the side of my boob. I yelled again and they both hurried away happily to the next coach.

It was nightmare on a broad daylight.

As I sat back again, continuing my train ride, fighting back tears, I looked across of me and saw those two polished gentlemen staring blankly at me.

I looked at them and I said ‘thanks for nothing’. I cried my way to my stop.

At the station, I looked for any form of authority to state my case. I found a security guard at his post. I told him what had happened in the coach and he was unresponsive.

I repeated myself and before I could finish, he said “Cik nak aku buat apa?” (what do you want me to do?)

I didn't say much. In fact, I didn't say anything. I just walked away. I felt violated and helpless and invisible.

At this point i began to believe that there's nothing I can do about it because there's nothing anyone can do to help me.

I took a deep breath and I took a cab to my office, praying real hard that the taxi driver won’t go all psycho on me.

I reached the office safely.

Speaking of psychos, the reason why I didn’t take the public bus anymore is because during my final year in Convent Klang, year `96, a psycho who sat beside me on my way back home from school masturbated underneath a sheet of newspaper.

Yes! Unbelievable, right? But, believe me it really happened.

Well at least, at that time I got help. The bus conductor threw him out of the bus. Nonetheless, it was traumatizing.

If it happened to me, I am sure it could have happened to any woman in this country. I am not sure which is more traumatizing though - the fact that I was groped or the fact that there were people witnessing the whole ordeal but unwilling to lend a hand.

It is a scary world out there for women and it gets scarier every single day and night especially.

And that’s a true scary story for you this Halloween. I am sure you have one too.