emancipated woman

let us begin with an assumption that the world would be a better place if only each person be it a man or a woman is allowed to live with whatever dignity he or she has.
this post is not stemming as much from rationality as much as anger.
You know one keeps hearing things like arre delhi unsafe place hai yaar...arre gurgaon ki to baat hi mat karo...tsk tsk bilkul safe nahi hai ladkiyon ke liye...

My anger is not as much towards those lecherous bastards or those f***ing morons who talk to your chest or those who think you are as dense as a block of ice that you wouldn't realise that they are pushing themselves at you or that "sorry madam galti se lag gaya" does not happen 3 times in a row in a non-crowded queue.
But its more towards this line of conversation i had...

Me: you know what happened today, there were four boys who came in a Scorpio and spoke absolute filth today morning at 8 a.m while I was waiting for a cab....who on earth would have thought at 8 a.m there are a bunch of ass***** who drive around doing this !
Other person: yea i know....but what were you wearing ?

Now my point is....how does it matter...no i am not on one of those tirades which go on about how a woman should be able to wear NOTHING and not be judged ya da ya da...but cmon..to assume that every such incident is under the woman's control and also that you bring trouble onto yourself by attracting attention by what you wear..is just plain sickening...I do not understand how reflexively that reaction of "what were you wearing" came about...its like some presumption of "you must have done SOMETHING...or else why would 4 boys just come and speak filth" yes of course it has nothing to do with the fact that these are truly sick people who probably should be hung by their toenails and have their hands dipped in hot oil and each finger nail plucked out...but no...surely you must have done something worthy enough to deserve this kind of attention...

moving on with the conversation..
Me: huh ?! what was I wearing ?! chuck it...anyways as I was saying, I then went to a nearby security guard (about 50 years old, was riding his cycle) and complained about the 4 boys...he said "arre madam...yeh to roz marra ki zindagi mein hota rehta hai...aap sentimental mat ho jaaiye"
Other person: tsk tsk tsk *tongue clicking sadly* hmmm...yea what can that poor guy also do...he has a cycle and he is so old.. he must be knowing those guys are obscenely rich and would buy him out for his weight in gold...bechara...but being a girl you should toughen up and get used to all this...

now you tell me how does toughening up mean taking crap like this and not reacting...why am i not strong if i react ? or me being calm saying haan yeh to hamesha hota hai...make it any less wrong than what it is...why should I or for that matter anyone get used it...how is it that you can its ok....how can it not anger you when someone invades your personal space, looks at you as if you are nothing more than a fresh slivered slice of meat...
why should you accept something that turns your stomach inside out as you feel violated? to be called strong ?!!??!

You are a strong person when you face the problem head-on and make sure it is taken care of..but are you a strong person when you become indifferent to the fact that you are somewhat like a candy store that either people keep staring at or try getting free samples of...?!
If being numb, being passive is being strong...then whoever said that go f*** himself....

Irrespective of how many times it has happened before or how many times it will happen in the future...i will get angry and i will react sharply...and thats how it shall be...it does not mean I am weak and I am whining...it means I am alive enough to be angry and thoroughly disgusted rather being a mere passive spectator of my own life