Me Too.

#MeToo when I was a child.

#MeToo when I was a preteen.

#MeToo when I was a teen.

#MeToo in my adulthood.

#MeToo when I was a child, wearing bootleg jeans and a tee-shirt that had camels walking across a sunset.

​#MeToo when I was a child, wearing pajamas.

#MeToo when I was a teenager, wearing dress pants and a dress shirt.

#MeToo when I was a child, when I was a teenager, and as an adult wearing an abaya and hijab (all multiple times, all in Saudi Arabia).

#MeToo when I wore salwar kameez with and without a duputta. 

#MeToo when I wore a "short" skirt or dress.

#MeToo, still, when I wear my hijab (no matter where in the world I am).

Sexual violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, regardless of how young or old they are, and what they are or are not wearing. It's happened to me. In my childhood. In my preteen years. In my teen years. In my adulthood. When I wore a "short" dress; when I wear my hijab. Stop blaming the victims, and start blaming the societies and cultures that continue to allow monsters to do as they please without any fear of consequences or judgement of their actions. This is a global problem that we constantly fail to address.

#MeToo.

March 17, 2018 Update: I've noticed that there are certain assholes who mock the Me Too movement and think that individuals (not just women - men can be the victims of sexual violence too!) exaggerate when they share their stories, or hashtag "Me Too". I can't speak on behalf of everyone, but I can speak on behalf of myself, and all that I want to and am willing to say to the general public about my experiences are written above. If you have the privilege of not understanding why "Me Too" is so significant, why people related to it/posted it, or why people believe that they were sexually assaulted or made uncomfortable through any unwanted sexualness (catcalling, for example), then I am truly envious of you. I wish I too didn't understand, because ignorance is bliss. But even if I didn't "understand" because I didn't live through it - I would still try to understand those individuals; I certainly would not be mocking this, or saying that people exaggerate about if they were victims (or survivors) of sexual misconduct. So, if you do happen to fall into this category of assholes who mock this, I urge you to educate yourself, be empathetic, listen, try to understand... Not everyone shares their stories; not everybody wears their scars on their face for the world to see - but that doesn't diminish what they went through. Peace.