Armed robberies happening in Karachi isn’t a new news, but someone, especially a woman, fighting the assaulters with bravery, indeed is.
According to the narrator of the story, the incident took place on the 23rd May 2018 at Britto Road at 8:30 am. When something bad is about to happen, some people have the ability to know it in their gut feelings and the victim of this story knew the same.
Here’s The Horrible Robbery this Brave Girl Tried to Fight Under Broad Daylight!
Today, when I was waiting for an auto, I saw two “naa maaloom afraad” staring at me. Living in Karachi, women are immune to such incidents; however, I would have reciprocated a death stare if I was not running late for work. The one who was sitting at the front was familiar.
I, on the other hand, did not take them seriously as I always assume innocent people to be harmful to me most of the times. Their plan was to approach me when an auto stops near me and they were successful. The familiar one stopped the bike and mumbled something like: “goli maardoonga, jo hai sab nikaalo“/”Take everything out or I will fire!” I do not know what had gotten into me at that time and I replied with: “Goli maardo, kuch nahin hai meray pass”/”Shoot me, I do not have anything.”
I was not scared at all and I do not know why; maybe because I could not see all that finally happening to me and I was certain that they did not have any weapon.
Later, he came towards me and started hitting me. I still held a tight grip on my bag and started hitting him back. With all the car horns I was listening to (to protest), I saw him dragging me with my bag towards the bike. An aunt, who teaches her niece that it is okay to lose, was not ready to lose this game! While I was still resisting and hitting him, he struck my head with his clenched fist, due to which I blacked out for a moment and that’s when he took my bag and moved forward.
Whereas, I stood there with my bruised arm & bleeding knuckle, sullen, quiet, & motionless. A moment after, I ran to note their bike’s number (as they had stopped for a moment there) that I chanted with long shuddering sobs, on my way back home.
Finally, when I got back home, everyone came to my rescue and the first thing I told my sister to do was to write the bike number somewhere. After denial & aggression, I was on a bargaining stage where I was trying to negotiate my pain away. I stood up and got my ATM card blocked, went to get my SIM blocked and get a duplicate one, went to my workplace to get myself checked at the OPD, lodged an FIR against the incident & my lost CNIC. The only thing I could not get blocked was my smartphone as it did not have a SIM and I do not have its IMEI number (let me know if anyone can help in this case). Moreover, the police & the authorities have cleared the bike and claimed that it is not stolen, which is a good sign to reach those muggers. Regardless of all the accusations on police, I am still hopeful. May justice be served.
People might call me stupid and say that I was not supposed to fight back and should have surrendered. I still feel that I could have done a lot though. The helplessness makes me feel like my soul is on a ventilator. I am struggling to recall where I have seen that familiar face, his hazel eyes! I used to say this a lot and felt it today that we get out of our homes draped in a shroud every day.
Nevertheless, I wish to see what I used to see every day on my way to the workplace: the trees, kids playing on the road & going to school, lalas making parathas at dhabbas, a sugarcane-juice-hawker, a flower shop, & poetry written on the vehicles. It is time to embrace these wounds & embellish them with fresh jasmine bangles!
Kudos to the girl for trying till the very end and fighting for what was hers – upsetting to see how no one takes any stand for another person in this country anymore.
