Women Reveal the Things They'd Do If Men Had a 9 p.m. Curfew in Powerful Twitter Thread | 22 Words

If you are alive today and you do not understand how unsafe women feel almost all of the time, you are not really awake. The reality is that one in three women experience physical or sexual violence. Chances are every woman you know has some story, whether she was groped in a bar or raped by a partner or followed home at night. It happens all the time. Everywhere. More than you know.

Women are constantly restricted by a society that has normalized violence against them. It is time for that to stop. And one of the ways to start that fight is to make it known just how unsafe women feel in our world. To share the everyday experiences that have become normal for women everywhere, from carrying mace to walking with your keys between your fingers to rushing to your car while looking over your shoulder. These are normal. But they should not be.

A civil rights activist, Danielle Muscato, posed this question on Twitter:

The answers are more powerful than you can imagine. Though she provided instructions for the dudes who came to the thread, of course, many didn't listen. Both men and women questioned Muscato's motives here. But this is a worthy exercise. Take a look at these responses.

Taking a walk in the dark

So many of the responses were like this. Women just want the freedom to walk outside when they want without fear of being attacked or killed. Is that too much to ask?

Hammock in the park

This sounds lovely. But unfortunately, it's not possible today.

Public transit

It's hard to think about how restricted women's lives are because we can't safely partake in simple things like this. Think about how our professional and personal lives are affected.

Take a peaceful walk

Once it's dark out, no matter how well a woman knows the area, she is immediately on guard. I know because I am a woman!

Drinks with girlfriends

Can you imagine not being afraid to leave a bar late at night? Not being worried about getting home safe? Yeah, me neither.

Hang out

There are so many times that I have not taken a sip of a drink because I don't know who poured it or how long it was sitting out. That's real.

Taking out the recycling

This is a basic task that a woman doesn't feel comfortable doing because she's afraid. Simple chores become possible nightmare situations.

Taking out the garbage

It is so sad that these fears are normalized. Many of us accept being afraid over the act of performing simple chores.

Grab what you forgot in your car

Grabbing what you forgot in your car seems like such a tiny, mundane task, but all women know that it could turn into a violent situation if we're not careful.

Sitting on the porch

It's really making me emotional to read these answers because I take that fear for granted. It's been a natural part of my whole life.

Protecting your aughters

This doesn't just concern individual women. This is also about the little girls who are growing up in this world, who are taught to be fearful.

Shopping

Even things that are supposed to bring us joy come with inherent risk. As women, we know that going to a bar with friends means putting our lives in danger.

Getting gas at night

Once I got gas very early in the morning and was alone. A strange man came up to me and stood and stared at me while the pump was running. I didn't know what to do. He didn't do anything, but he could have.

Sports bar

Aside from the actual danger, there are also situations like this. Women aren't allowed to like what they like without being interrogated by a man who feels entitled to know about them.

Winter

In the winter, there is so much more darkness and the days are shorter. That means more danger for women.

Riding bikes

Being a woman in public means constantly scanning for possible threats. It's real. This isn't an exaggeration.

Central Park

Central Park can be dangerous for women even during the day, so to walk through the park at night is out of the question. If a woman were to do this, we'd say, "What was she thinking?" instead of what we should be asking.

Drink and dance

These answers are so sad. It's hard to unabashedly enjoy oneself knowing that you could be putting yourself in danger by doing so.

Heels at night

I often think about whether I could easily run away in the shoes I'm wearing if I had to. I doubt most men think like that.

The mind reels

The possibilities could be endless for women if we felt safe most of the time. The world has been holding us back.

Taking pictures at night

This is so frustrating because a male photographer would not have the same limitations. The world is literally designed to keep women down.

The beach at night

Many of the answers included sitting on the beach. I think it has something to do with just wanting to be able to feel relaxed at a time when we are not usually allowed to be.

Walk around the city

Any city, whether it is known to us or foreign to us, can turn dangerous in an instant.

Spontaneity

Women don't really have the luxury to be spontaneous in the same way that men do. Solo travel is much more fraught.

Run at night

Men can run at night. Women cannot.

Walk everywhere

It's a luxury to be able to go to the store late at night. I can't imagine what that's like! Oh wait, men can.

Earbuds in

The point about earbuds is true; you are vulnerable. If you have them in, you can't hear your surroundings, and if you don't have them in, men feel entitled to your ear.

Watch the sunrise

Can you imagine watching the sunrise by yourself in a foreign country? If you are a woman, the answer is probably no.

Everything

Everything. We'd do everything. Share this with someone who needs to understand.