Seizing a moment, Thesni rang the police. They arrived in about 15 minutes, but would not register a case. Her neck was aching, and it was only after she was admitted to hospital the next day and the assault caught media attention that the police top brass took notice. Once the case was logged, 72 hours after the incident, three of the men were arrested. But Thesni is far from reassured of her safety. "If a woman travels with a male friend in Kerala, she will be manhandled," she says, outlining the problem, "If we travel alone, we will be sexually attacked, probably by the same moral brigade that cannot stand us travelling with males."
Men in Kerala appear over-concerned about what women do, how they turn up in public - with whom, how, and when. To fall in love is almost seen as a crime in the state now. Public spaces are being fumigated, so to speak, to protect society from such dangers as public displays of affection. A couple sitting together in a park or on a beach can expect to be roughed up by strangers, some of them in police uniform. Meanwhile, cases of sexual harassment, molestation and rape have reached levels never seen before. Newspapers regularly report minor girls being abducted for sex slavery and daughters being sold into the trade by their own fathers. Things are so bad that everyday life for women is turning into a nightmare. Take just the last month or so. {Read the full story - Open Magazine}