India: A Traveler's Heaven, a Woman's Hell
India a traveler's heaven, a woman's hell: American student
IANS | Aug 22, 2013, 11.00 AM IST
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READ MORE Chicago University|Sexual Harassment|Michaela Cross|Female Tourists
Cross, a fair-skinned, red-haired South Asian studies major, who left India a few days before the deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, said that helped others understand what she and her classmates went through.
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WASHINGTON: Back from a study trip to India last year, a Chicago university student recalls it as a visit full of adventures and beauty but also relentless sexual harassment, groping and worse.
In a powerful account posted on CNN iReport under the username RoseChasm, Michaela Cross says upon her return, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and is now on a mental leave of absence from the school after a public breakdown in the spring.
Her story "India: The Story You Never Wanted to Hear" has struck a chord around the world, racking up more than 800,000 page views as of Wednesday morning, CNN reported.
Cross, a fair-skinned, red-haired South Asian studies major, who left India a few days before the deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, said that helped others understand what she and her classmates went through.
On her return, Cross struggled to find a way to talk about a cultural experience that was both beautiful and traumatizing, CNN cited her as saying in her essay.
She writes: "Do I tell them about our first night in the city of Pune, when we danced in the Ganesha festival, and leave it at that? Or do I go on and tell them how the festival actually stopped when the American women started dancing, so that we looked around to see a circle of men filming our every move?
"Do I tell them about bargaining at the bazaar for beautiful saris costing a few dollars a piece, and not mention the men who stood watching us, who would push by us, clawing at our breasts and groins?
IANS | Aug 22, 2013, 11.00 AM IST
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READ MORE Chicago University|Sexual Harassment|Michaela Cross|Female Tourists
Cross, a fair-skinned, red-haired South Asian studies major, who left India a few days before the deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, said that helped others understand what she and her classmates went through.
RELATED
Loading
WASHINGTON: Back from a study trip to India last year, a Chicago university student recalls it as a visit full of adventures and beauty but also relentless sexual harassment, groping and worse.
In a powerful account posted on CNN iReport under the username RoseChasm, Michaela Cross says upon her return, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and is now on a mental leave of absence from the school after a public breakdown in the spring.
Her story "India: The Story You Never Wanted to Hear" has struck a chord around the world, racking up more than 800,000 page views as of Wednesday morning, CNN reported.
Cross, a fair-skinned, red-haired South Asian studies major, who left India a few days before the deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, said that helped others understand what she and her classmates went through.
On her return, Cross struggled to find a way to talk about a cultural experience that was both beautiful and traumatizing, CNN cited her as saying in her essay.
She writes: "Do I tell them about our first night in the city of Pune, when we danced in the Ganesha festival, and leave it at that? Or do I go on and tell them how the festival actually stopped when the American women started dancing, so that we looked around to see a circle of men filming our every move?
"Do I tell them about bargaining at the bazaar for beautiful saris costing a few dollars a piece, and not mention the men who stood watching us, who would push by us, clawing at our breasts and groins?