On September 5, Teachers' Day, the social media was flooded with wishes and greetings as several people cherished fond memories of their favourite teachers. While scrolling through my Twitter feed, I came across a tweet that hit close to home, it read: "Happy Teachers day to stupid Marian ma'am who told me that I would one day become a prostitute because I was very talkative."
The tweet evoked all the horrid memories of my teenage years.
From being verbally and emotionally abused by a teacher at the age of 13 to a college professor blaming girls for the increasing numbers of rapes in the country, here's to the unforgettable teachers who will forever linger in my memory:
Dear Ma'am,
A Happy Teachers' Day to you and all the teachers present in the staff room who didn't utter a word at what they were witnessing. A teenage girl, kneeling in front of you as you peeled the plastic wrap from your sandwich and her self esteem with your absurd and ridiculous comments. You didn't just teach me English, you also taught me that even a women can be misogynistic too. You brainwashed me into thinking that women were sexually harassed and molested because of how they behaved and what they wore.
"It's because of girls like you that women get molested," you had declared.
My only fault? Thinking it was okay to wear a tank top (outside the school premises).
This isn't the first time I have been reminded of you... I have thought of you more often than not. The most striking though was when I was molested and to mind you, I was as modestly dressed as you would have liked.
I also thought of you on the first day of college, when all my excitement faded after the professor explained the college's dress code in a rather preposterous way.
"If you are going to wear sleeveless tops and distressed jeans, please don't complain when the boys try to touch you here and there. We are not responsible."
Well, much to my disappointment, that wasn't the last time either. You would be happy to know that I did come across another teacher in my degree college who had a similar logic behind the increasing numbers of rapes in the country. In a class full of young boys and girls she had said, "Ladkiyo ko hum dekhte hai train me spaghetti tops pehne huwe... ladke toh nadaan hote hai ladko se galti hojati hai."
And with sheer disbelief of what she had just blurted out, I sat there with a lump in my throat.
On Teachers' Day, while I express gratitude towards all the amazing teachers who guided me and lifted me, I also remember the one who emotionally and verbally abused me and several other girls. To quote Helen Caldicott, "Teachers are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth."
