When Festival Becomes Unsafe for Women (The Holi Festival)

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]If you think festivals are always safe, then you better think again. What is supposed to be fun is actually becoming very dangerous for women.

[00:00:09]Women around the world are sharing stories of harassment during celebrations. Celebrations like what we're going to be looking into today, the Holi festival. This is an educational commentary about safety concerns women face in some cultural practices. You know, I didn't expect this. After I posted a video about when culture becomes a nightmare for Nigerian women, yeah, the Osun festival, I thought maybe a few people would relate.

[00:00:38]But women from different parts of the world started sharing their own stories in my comment. Different countries, different culture, but the same feeling, the same thing. Feeling unsafe in places that are supposed to be joyful. One comment really stayed with me. She mentioned the Holi festival in India.

[00:00:57]And what she described was not celebration. Now, if you've ever seen Holi online, for me, I am a fan of Indian movies, Bollywood. I am a fan of Bollywood. So, I have seen I've come across a lot of scenes in Indian movies.

[00:01:14]If you see Holi festival, it looks beautiful, colors everywhere, music, dancing, people laughing and having fun.

[00:01:23]It looks like happiness in its purest form. Everybody is enjoying themselves.

[00:01:28]But like I always say, what we see sometimes is not always the full story.

[00:01:33]So, let's talk about the Holi festival and how it came about because it is very important. Holi is not just a random festival. It is deep-rooted in Hindu tradition. It is connected to a story about overcoming evil. There was this legend of Prahlad, a young boy who remained devoted despite pressure to turn against his beliefs. And then there is Holika who tried to harm him.

[00:02:02]But in the end, she was the one that was destroyed. That is why you see something called Holika Dahan where bonfires are lit. It symbolizes evil being burned away, good surviving, renewal, new beginnings.

[00:02:19]And the next day, that's when the colors come in. The colors represents joy, unity, breaking social barriers, everyone being equal at least for a moment. And honestly, that message is beautiful. But here is where things start to change because somewhere along the line, freedom turned into lack of boundaries. That same everyone is equal energy sometimes become I can do anything I want to you today. And that's where the problem begins. So, going back to that comment I saw, she said, "During Holi, people use chaos as an excuse. She and her friend were harassed and touched inappropriately.

[00:03:02]Colors weren't thrown playfully.

[00:03:05]It was forced into sensitive parts of the body, their personal space.

[00:03:11]And the scariest part, the crowd. It was crowded, loud, chaotic. So, even when you want to react, who are you reacting to? Let me read it in her own words. "Same thing happens in Holi festival in India. We were walking outside cuz we had no idea about something like this because we were from South part of India and we were staying there for studies. That day, some men ran to us out of nowhere and grabbed my friend's top in the neckline and poured color into her bare chest and grabbed me by my waist and tried to remove my veil. They were yelling racist chants and even tried to undress my friend.

[00:03:59]I dropped my studies and went back to South India after that incident.

[00:04:04]That was too much for me.

[00:04:06]Imagine a large number of men gathering around you, staring into your flesh, and not only throwing colors into your face, but also applying colors into your body by their hand, and undressing you in the middle of the wood, and everyone cheering and yelling.

[00:04:27]Not a single hand was raised to stop them among that much number of men.

[00:04:34]Not a single hand was raised to stop them.

[00:04:41]We escaped by our own strength and scratches on our arms and marks on our back.

[00:04:49]Wow.

[00:04:50]World-class experience, actually.

[00:04:54]So, after I saw this, I went to do my research on the Holi festival.

[00:05:01]I checked online and I saw videos that were not appealing at all. Videos that were not appealing in any way. Videos that were annoying. Videos you have never seen before about the Holi festival because I know for the longest I have been watching Indian films and I have never ever come across or seen anything like that about Holi festival.

[00:05:30]And it shocked me.

[00:05:31]And I would like to show you some of the videos. Let us watch together.

[00:05:35]Hi guys.

[00:05:40]It's not fun at all.

[00:05:56]It's [ __ ] So, I just got back from a Holi event.

[00:06:18]And for those who don't know what's Holi, it's an Indian festival where they put colors on each other. It's a celebration of colors, of vibrance, and I love it. But the worst part is that a lot of men use it as an excuse to inappropriately touch women without their consent. And they always use the word or the sentence "Bura na mano, Holi hai." So, whenever we reject them, right? Like, don't put colors on us, they're like, "Oh, it's just Holi. Don't get mad. It's just Holi." And I had to so many times verbally yell at them and say, "We said no. No means no." And so many of them were like literally violently and aggressively putting colors on us. And we were clearly against it. And they would not take no for an answer. I had to literally step in and save my girlfriends from these men putting colors on them by telling them and yelling at them, "Please stop. She said no." And they were not understanding that. I feel like there's such a broader problem in India with the Indian men with in terms of consent because it's first of all so normalized in Indian media about being aggressive with women and women liking it when that's not actually the case. And secondly, there's hardly any sex education in India and any education on consent. And a lot of these men don't see women as human beings that have boundaries. They don't give a [ __ ] about boundaries. And again, it's not like all men. I know there are some Indian men that are amazing. I have some guy friends, but majority of them are really [ __ ] Like a lot of them need to be taught basic education on women's consent. Even though the event was amazing, I had a lot of fun, but we always had this anxiety of just having these men around.

[00:07:58]We had to constantly change our places because these men were just like following us and trying to put colors on us.

[00:08:04]And even though we yelled and like said we don't want it, they would not understand that. And so many women, especially in India, get assaulted because of this. Men use it as an excuse to inappropriately touch them. And I feel bad for a lot of the foreigners here because even they were there at the event. And they sometimes maybe don't realize that the way these men act is not because they generally want the other woman to enjoy the festival, but it's as a way to touch them inappropriately.

[00:08:33]After that one guy grabbed my boob and like it did it wasn't even a boob grab.

[00:08:38]He put his arm around me so hard that it wasn't even like he was trying not to be noticed. Like he was trying to hurt me. That's what I'm surprised about. I shouted at him. The guys got him away.

[00:08:53]You can imagine the kind of anxiety, the kind of fear she would be in that moment. This is harassment. These videos aren't cool at all. It shocks me that something as beautiful as the Holi festival has been turned into torture.

[00:09:14]Or like I always say, nightmare for women.

[00:09:20]When you put large crowd, noise, celebration, and anonymity together, you create the perfect environment for people to misbehave without consequences.

[00:09:35]And then you add one more thing.

[00:09:38]It is culture.

[00:09:39]And suddenly, people feel protected because if you complain, you're spoiling the fun.

[00:09:45]If you speak up, you are overreacting.

[00:09:48]If you go to that comment section, you will see a lot of women sharing their experiences. Someone mentioned Haiti.

[00:09:56]Another person mentioned Uganda, which we're going to be looking into on this channel.

[00:10:01]So, let's just say we just unlocked a new series under the social commentary segment of this channel. And we will maybe call it women and culture or whatever name we come up with. If you have any, feel free to suggest it in the comments. So, stay locked in as we unveil some barbaric cultures that are dangerous for women. So, this is not just about India. This is something I have noticed everywhere. Festivals, weddings, parties, celebrations, where people think this is how it has always been done. So, no one questions it. No one challenges it. And women are expected to just endure. And that's the part that bothers me the most. Because imagine going somewhere that is supposed to bring you joy. Instead, you are calculating. You are thinking, am I safe?

[00:10:52]You're looking back to know who is walking behind you. You're looking for where to hide and save your head. You're looking for how to protect your body.

[00:11:01]That's not celebration in any way.

[00:11:05]Holi festival, like I said, is a beautiful festival. But since there are some people who want to turn it around, then I think the government should make arrest of some people to use as scapegoat for other people. Because if the government doesn't do anything about it, it will definitely continue. I have seen people travel all the way to India just to celebrate the Holi festival.

[00:11:30]Now, imagine their joy being cut short when something like this happens to them. And I want to be very, very clear.

[00:11:38]This is not about attacking culture.

[00:11:40]Like I said in the other video, I respect culture.

[00:11:44]Culture is important. Tradition matter.

[00:11:47]But anything that allows people to respect others, especially women and their spaces, needs to be questioned. Because at the end of the day, a celebration should feel safe for everyone.

[00:12:03]Not just enjoyable for some. So, I want to ask you, have you ever experienced something like this where something that is supposed to be fun didn't feel safe?

[00:12:14]Let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you're coming across this channel for the first time, my name is Cassie. And on this channel, we talk. I do videos challenging social norms, social media curated lifestyle, and mindset shifting videos for women navigating their identities.

[00:12:32]So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and click the subscribe button so you don't miss my next upload. Like and share this video to every woman you love. And I will definitely see you in my next video.

[00:12:45]Bye, guys.

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