Because when we talk about empowerment, what affects us most are the stories.

因為談到充權時 故事往往都扮演著重要角色

So I want to begin with an everyday story.

所以我想先講個故事

What is it really like to be a young woman in India?

印度年輕女人的生活到底是什麼樣子?

Now, I've spent the last 27 years of my life in India,

我過去27年都住在印度

lived in three small towns, two major cities, and I've had several experiences.

足跡遍及3個小城鎮、2個大都市 有過幾個經驗

When I was seven, a private tutor who used to come home to teach me mathematics molested me

7歲時 我被數學家教性騷擾

He would put his hand up my skirt.

他把手伸到我裙子裡…

He put his hand up my skirt and told me he knew how to make me feel good.

…他把手伸進我裙子裡 說他知道如何讓我爽翻天

At 17, a boy from my high school circulated an email

17歲時 有個同高中的男生散播了一封email

Detailing all the sexually aggressive things he could do to me because I didn't pay attention to him.

寫著他要如何又如何侵犯我 就只因為我對他沒興趣

At 19, I helped a friend whose parents had forcefully married her to an older man escape an abusive marriage

19歲時我幫朋友脫離家暴－她爸媽逼迫她嫁給一個老頭

At 21, when my friend and I were walking down the road one afternoon

21歲那年的某個下午 我和朋友走在路上

A man pulled down his pants and masturbated in front of us.

有個男的脫掉褲子 在我們面前自慰

We called people for help, and nobody came.

我們求救 但沒人幫忙

At 25, when I was walking home one evening, two men on a motorcycle attacked me.

25歲 有天傍晚我走路回家 摩托車上的兩個男人襲擊了我

I spent two nights in the hospital recovering from trauma and injuries.

導致我因為嚴重內外傷 在醫院躺了兩天

So throughout my life, I've seen women — family, friends, colleagues

我發現許多女性－家人、朋友、同事

— live through these experiences, and they seldom talk about it.

都有類似經驗 她們卻很少提起

So in simple words, life in India is not easy.

一言以蔽之 女人在印度的生活不容易

But today I'm not going to talk to you about this fear.

但我今天的重點並非恐懼

I'm going to talk to you about an interesting path of learning that this fear took me on.

而是恐懼改變我的奇妙過程

So, what happened one night in December 2012 changed my life.

2012年12月發生的事 改變了我的一生

So a young girl, a 23-year-old student,

一名23歲的年輕女學生

boarded a bus in Delhi with her male friend.

和男性友人搭上了德里的公車

There were six men on the bus, young men who you might encounter every day in India,

公車上的6個男人－在印度隨處可見的那種男人

and the chilling account of what followed was played over and over again in the Indian and international media.

事件發生後 印度和國際媒體用血腥冷酷文字一遍又一遍報導

This girl was raped repeatedly,

她遭到輪暴

forcefully penetrated with a blunt rod, beaten, bitten, and left to die.

鐵棒貫穿下體、遭暴打、啃咬 奄奄一息

Her friend was gagged, attacked, and knocked unconscious.

她的朋友被加害人堵住嘴、打昏

She died on the 29th of December.

而她在12月29日宣告不治

And at a time when most of us here were preparing to welcome the new year, India plunged into darkness.

當世界各地歡喜迎接新年 印度卻陷入愁雲慘霧

For the first time in our history, men and women in Indian cities woke up to the horrific truth about the true state of women in the country.

歷史上頭一遭 印度不分男人女人 終於注意到印度女性地位有多低落

Now, like many other young women, I was absolutely terrified.

我和許多年輕女子一樣 都嚇壞了

I couldn't believe that something like this could happen in a national capital.

無法相信首都竟會發生這種事

I was angry and I was frustrated, but most of all, I felt utterly, completely helpless.

我憤怒又沮喪 但最強烈的感覺是全然的絕望

But really, what do you do, right?

但又能真的做什麼呢?

Some write blogs, some ignore it, some join protests.

有人寫部落格紀錄、有人直接忽視、還有些人參加了抗議行動

I did all of it. In fact, that was what everyone was doing two years ago.

我每一樣都做了 其實兩年前的印度 每個人都在做這些事

So the media was filled with stories about all the horrific deeds that Indian men are capable of.

媒體版面上極盡描寫印度男人的暴行

They were compared to animals, sexually repressed beasts.

他們被形容為禽獸不如、受到性壓迫的畜生

In fact, so alien and unthinkable was this event in an Indian mind

對印度人來說 這個事件如此陌生又難以想像

that the response from the Indian media, public and politicians proved one point:

媒體、群眾和政客的反應更證明了一件事:

No one knew what to do. And no one wanted to be responsible for it.

沒人知道該做什麼、也沒人想為這件事負責

In fact, these were a few insensitive comments which were made in the media by prominent people

一些赫赫有名的人

in response to sexual violence against women in general.

甚至對性暴力發表了讓人反感的留言

So the first one is made by a member of parliament,

第一個是國會議員寫的

the second one is made by a spiritual leader,

第二個是精神領袖的評論

and the third one was actually the defendants' lawyer when the girl was fighting for her life and she passed away.

第三個是被告的律師 他在那女孩與死神搏鬥不幸逝世時寫下了這句話

Now, as a woman watching this day after day, I was tired.

身為女性 看著這些事一而再、再而三發生 我感到厭倦

So as a writer and gender activist, I have written extensively on women,

我是個作家與性平主義者 所以許多作品的主角都是女人

but this time, I realized it was different,

但這次 情況不同了

because a part of me realized I was a part of that young woman too, and I decided I wanted to change this.

我也是那些年輕女性中的一份子 我想改變現況

So I did something spontaneous, hasty.

所以我自發、匆忙的做了一件事

I logged on to a citizen journalism platform called iReport,

我登入一個叫iReport的公民記者平台

and I recorded a video talking about what the scene was like in Bangalore.

錄了一段影片 報告班加羅爾的狀況

I talked about how I felt, I talked about the ground realities,

表達了自己的感覺、提及沉重的事實、

and I talked about the frustrations of living in India.

還有生活在印度多麼讓人沮喪

In a few hours, the blog was shared widely, and comments and thoughts poured in from across the world.

幾小時內 那篇日誌就有許多人分享 評論和意見從世界各地湧入

In that moment, a few things occurred to me.

那一刻 我突然領悟了幾件事

One, technology was always at hand for many young women like me.

首先 科技對年輕女性來說唾手可得

Two, like me, most young women hardly use it to express their views.

第二 我們卻很少用這些媒介來表達思想

Three, I realized for the first time that my voice mattered.

第三 我初次看到自己的意見是有價值的

So in the months that followed, I covered a trail of events in Bangalore

接下來的幾個月 我報導了班加羅爾一連串

which had no space in the mainstream news.

被主流媒體忽視的事件

In Cubbon Park, which is a big park in Bangalore

在班加羅爾的庫本大公園

I gathered with over 100 others when groups of young men came forward to wear skirts

我和100多人聚在一起 青年穿著裙子前來

to prove that clothing does not invite rape.

想證明衣著並不是強暴的藉口

When I reported about these events, I felt I had charge

報導這些集會時 我又有了使命感

I felt like I had a channel to release all the emotions I had inside me.

好像找到了一個能抒發心中所有情緒的途徑

I attended the town hall march when students held up signs saying "Kill them, hang them."

我參加了市鎮廳遊行 學生們舉牌抗議 上面寫著「殺死他們 吊死他們」、

"You wouldn't do this to your mothers or sisters."

「你不會對自己的媽媽或姊妹下這種毒手」

I went to a candlelight vigil where citizens gathered together to talk about the issue of sexual violence openly,

我也去了燭光集會 人們在那裡公開討論性暴力

and I recorded a lot of blogs in response to how worrying the situation was in India at that point.

我錄了很多短片 傳達印度當前讓人憂心忡忡的情況

Now, the reactions confused me.

得到的反應卻讓我困惑

While supportive comments poured in from across the world, as did vicious ones.

評價正反兩極都有 很極端

So some called me a hypocrite. Some called me a victim, a rape apologist.

有人罵我假仙、有人說我是受害者、倡導強暴

Some even said I had a political motive.

還有的說我抱持政治動機

But this one comment kind of describes what we are discussing here today.

這一條留言似乎正是今天討論的重點

But I was soon to learn that this was not all.

但我很快就發現事情沒這麼簡單

As empowered as I felt with the new liberty that this citizen journalism channel gave me

當我因為公民記者頻道 而感覺自由且充滿力量時

I found myself in an unfamiliar situation.

卻發現自己也陷入了僵局

So sometime last August I logged onto Facebook and I was looking through my news feed

去年八月我登入臉書 瀏覽著塗鴉牆

And I noticed there was a link that was being shared by my friends.

看到朋友分享了一個連結

I clicked on the link; it led me back to a report uploaded by an American girl called Michaela Cross.

我點下去 網頁導向一篇美國女孩米雪˙克拉斯上傳的文章

The report was titled, "India: The story you never wanted to hear."

標題是: 「印度－你永不希望聽到的故事」

And in this report, she recounted her firsthand account of facing sexual harassment in India.

裡面是她在印度的受到的性騷擾回憶

She wrote, "There is no way to prepare for the eyes, the eyes that every day stared with such entitlement at my body,

她寫: 「毫不遮掩的色瞇瞇視線，似要把我生吞活剝；

with no change of expression whether I met their gaze or not.

眼神交不交會都一樣。

Walking to the fruit seller's or the tailor's, I got stares so sharp that they sliced away bits of me piece by piece."

不管是到水果攤或裁縫店，飢渴的盯視將我逐漸瓦解」

She called India a traveler's heaven and a woman's hell.

她說印度是「旅者的天堂 女人的地獄」

She said she was stalked, groped, and masturbated at.

她被跟蹤、亂摸、猥褻

Now, late that evening, the report went viral. It was on news channels across the world.

那天傍晚 該文章已廣為流傳 出現在各地新聞頻道裡

Everyone was discussing it. It had over a million views,

大家都在討論 那篇文章有超越一百萬的點閱率、

a thousand comments and shares, and I found myself witnessing a very similar thing.

幾千條評論、無數個分享 我發現這個場景似曾相識

The media was caught in this vicious cycle of opinion and outburst and no outcome whatsoever.

媒體又陷入惡性循環－充滿各界評論 卻仍沒有結論

So that night, as I sat wondering how I should respond, I found myself filled with doubt.

當晚我思索著要如何回應 卻發現自己有好多疑慮與不確定

You see, as a writer, I approached this issue as an observer,

站在作家的角度 我是個旁觀者

as an Indian, I felt embarrassment and disbelief,

身為印度人 我感到丟臉、不可置信

and as an activist, I looked at it as a defender of rights,

以行動主義者的視角 我把它看做是對權利的捍衛

but as a citizen journalist, I suddenly felt very vulnerable.

做為公民記者 我突然害怕起責難

I mean, here she was, a young woman who was using a channel to talk about her experience just as I was, and yet I felt unsettled.

一個年輕女孩跟我一樣 透過網路抒發自身經歷 我卻感到坐立難安

You see, no one ever tells you that true empowerment comes from giving yourself the permission to think and act.

沒人告訴你真正的充權來自實際去想、親身去做

Empowerment is often made to sound as if it's an ideal, it's a wonderful outcome.

充權經常被塑造成一種理想狀態、一種完美結果

When we talk about empowerment, we often talk about giving people access to materials, giving them access to tools

它指的常常都是賜予別人管道去獲取某物、某工具

But the thing is, empowerment is an emotion. It's a feeling.

但充權其實是一種情緒、一種感受

The first step to empowerment is to give yourself the authority, the key to independent will

通往它的第一步是賦予自己權力 也是邁向獨立自主的金鑰

and for women everywhere, no matter who we are or where we come from, that is the most difficult step.

對女人來說 這是最艱難的一步

We fear the sound of our own voice, for it means admission, but it is this that gives us the power to change our environment.

我們害怕傾聽自己的內心 因為那代表妥協、讓步 但正是那些心底聲音讓我們有力量改變世界

Now in this situation where I was faced with so many different kinds of realities,

這個例子裡 我看到了各種不同的現實

I was unsure how to judge, because I didn't know what it would mean for me.

我不確定該怎麼評斷 因為我不知道會有什麼結果

I feared to judge because I didn't know what it would be if I didn't support the same view as this girl.

我害怕去評論、說出真正想法 如果我不同意那個女孩 會有什麼後果?

I didn't know what it would mean for me if I was challenging someone else's truth. But yet, it was simple.

我不知道挑戰他人眼中的事實 會給我帶來什麼影響 不過有件事很肯定

I had to make a decision: Should I speak up or should I stay quiet?

我得做出決定－暢所欲言或沉默回應?

So after a lot of thought, I recorded a video blog in response, and I told Michaela,

思前想後一番 我錄製了一個短片 告訴米雪

well, there are different sides to India, and I also tried to explain that things would be okay

印度有很多面向 安慰她一切都會好起來的

and I expressed my regret for what she had faced.

也表達了我的遺憾

And a few days later, I was invited to talk on air with her, and for the first time,

幾天後 我受邀與她在廣播裡對話 生平第一次

I reached out to this girl who I had never met, who was so far away, but yet I felt so close to.

我對這個素未謀面 相隔幾千哩遠、我卻感覺如此貼近的女孩伸出援手

Since this report came to light, more young people than ever were discussing sexual harassment on the campus,

那篇文章曝光後 校園中討論性騷擾議題的年輕人數量達到顛峰

and the university that Michaela belonged to gave her the assistance she needed.

米雪就讀的大學也提供了必要協助

The university even took measures to train its students to equip them with the skills

該大學甚至採取了防範措施－教導防身技巧

that they need to confront challenges such as harassment, and for the first the time, I felt I wasn't alone.

以備未來遇到騷擾之類的麻煩 我第一次感到自己並非孤軍奮戰

You see, if there's anything that I've learned as an active citizen journalist over the past few years,

若過去幾年活躍公民記者的生涯 有教會我什麼的話

it is our dire lack as a society to actively find avenues where our voices can be heard.

那就是我們的社會消極之至 從不主動尋求表達意見的平台

We don't realize that when we are standing up,

除非挺身而出 否則永遠不可能了解這一點

we are not just standing up as individuals, we are standing up for our communities, our friends, our peers.

我們不只為個人發聲 還代表社群、朋友、同儕

Most of us say that women are denied their rights, but the truth is, oftentimes, women deny themselves these rights.

大家都說女人被剝奪大眾權利 但其實是女人放棄了自己的權利

In a recent survey in India, 95 percent of the women who work in I.T., aviation, hospitality and call centers

印度最近有個調查－95%在資訊科技業、航空業、醫院和客服中心工作的女性

Said they didn't feel safe returning home alone after work in the late hours or in the evening.

都認為傍晚或深夜下班回家很不安全

In Bangalore, where I come from, this number is 85 percent.

在我的故鄉班加羅爾 比例是85%

In rural areas in India, if anything is to go by the recent gang rapes in Badaun

如果都用百分比來計算 郊區佈道恩(註: 印度北方縣市)的輪暴、

and acid attacks in Odisha and Aligarh are supposed to go by, we need to act really soon.

奧里薩邦(註: 印度東部的一邦)和阿里格爾(註: 印度北方城市)的潑硫酸攻擊比例還會更高 這件事刻不容緩

Don't get me wrong, the challenges that women will face in telling their stories is real

別誤解了我的意思 要女性揭發曾受過的傷害絕不容易

But we need to start pursuing and trying to identify mediums

但我們得開始學會利用與明辨媒體

to participate in our system and not just pursue the media blindly.

參與、投入社會體系 而不是盲從

Today, more women than ever are standing up and questioning the government in India, and this is a result of that courage.

今天有越來越多女性站出來 質問政府 這就是勇氣帶來的改變

There is a sixfold increase in women reporting harassment,

女性舉報性騷擾的比率成長了整整六倍

and the government passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act in 2013 to protect women against sexual assault.

印度當局在2013年通過了刑事法(修訂版) 保護女性免於性騷擾

As I end this talk, I just want to say that I know a lot of us in this room have our secrets

結束以前 我想說 這房間裡的我們都有自己的秘密

but let us speak up. Let us fight the shame and talk about it.

但讓我們挺身而出 一起對抗這種恥辱

It could be a platform, a community, your loved one,

對象可以是台下聽者、公眾、你的摯愛、

whoever or whatever you choose, but let us speak up.

不管你對誰訴說或採取什麼方法 別再沉默

The truth is, the end to this problem begins with us.

性騷擾的終結始於你我

Thank you.

謝謝