An Open Letter to Those Who Spoke Up #MeToo

You spoke up, not out of fear, but out of hope. You hoped that the world would see sense. You hoped that it would be as simple as seeing tyranny for what it really is and calling out the ones who did you wrong. 

Perhaps you knew that it might bring you more pain than suffering in silence. Perhaps you knew that blame and slander would be thrown your way and doubt would be cast on your word; doubt if you really are a victim or using this as an opportunity to defame someone. I cannot say for certainty what the truth is; I am not God. I am not the Creator, I am His Creation. My sight and knowledge are limited.  

What I do know for sure is that truth is a powerful thing. And somehow or the other, it comes out. What I hoped to do was to be on the side of truth for I know that sexual harassment is real and faced by majority of women, most of whom never spoke up.

I am sorry that I failed you 

I am sorry that I know your name only through hours of googling about your personal life just to satisfy my curiosity. I am sorry that, while I care about sexual harassment, I care more about my penchant for gossip. I am sorry that while I am eagerly shredding your life apart by passing judgement as a simple bystander, you continue to suffer now even more than you did when you had to do so in silence. I am sorry that when I open up Youtube, there are videos of you with headlines such as 'Who's Right' and "Here's the REAL story behind ABC allegations', with no regards to the fact that you could in-fact stumble on to these videos and they may hurt you more than anything ever did. I am sorry that I care more about the opportunity to look into and talk about and second guess another person's personal life; pick it apart, examine all the pieces that someone weaved together so carefully never knowing that prying eyes and hands may just rip them apart some day.

I am sorry because I know there are so many ways I can stand up for you, but I am not because its so 

much easier to sit on the sidelines and watch the drama unfold. I know I can help out, even if I don’t know you and may never meet you, by perhaps teaching children so that they grow up with enough dignity and self respect that they call out others who have wronged them, by reaching out to friends who have suffered the same thing at the hands of crass and merciless creatures at supermarkets, cinemas and even on the streets.  

I am sorry that while I call upon you to 'be more modest' and 'act more forgiving' all in the name of religion, I very conveniently overlook the fact that the same religion implores on me to be kind, to watch my tongue because through it, I can commit acts of unimaginable cruelty, through it I can inflict on you sharper blows than any act of physical violence, through it I can torture your mind more than your own demons.

I am sorry that the only 'help', the only message I have given you is this: Please continue to suffer in silence. That really is better for you.

I am sorry that while I use my religion to act self-righeous, I forget this one important aspect:

"Verily, Allah does not loook at your appearance or your wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and your actions" Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Sahih Mulim 2564

I am sorry, that with my heart and with my actions (most notably, my tongue), I have failed you.