07/08/2025
There are many kinds of fear.
What kind of fear?
The fear of death? No — death is easy.
Suppose it’s 8 p.m.
You are a woman.
Alone on the road.
You're waiting for a bus at a bus stand — maybe in Agrabad or somewhere else.
It’s dark all around. But not just the darkness outside — the people around you feel darker.
Because you are a woman.
You stand there, pretending not to care. Pretending to be the strongest woman in the world.
Your spine is straight — firm and tall.
Your parents keep calling you — it’s already 8 p.m.
Because even 8 a.m. isn’t safe for a woman to be outside alone.
You're not allowed to be outside alone after 8 p.m.
And if I were a parent, I would do the same.
You are scared.
Your legs are trembling with fear.
Is it the fear of death? No.
It's a different kind of fear — one you can't put into words.
You can't even risk hiring a CNG or any other vehicle — that might be even more dangerous.
Suddenly, incidents flash through your mind — the things you've read in newspapers, seen on Facebook.
Those stories scare you more than anything else.
You think — if you can’t protect yourself, how will you even face yourself?
Just then, the bus arrives.
It’s the environment, the reality in Bangladesh, that makes you think this way.
Do men ever feel this kind of fear?