A Japanese woman who was abused by a group of men during India’s Hindu Holi celebration says she “still loves everything” in the country despite the traumatic incident.
The woman in her 20s identified herself as the victim in the shocking video, taken while celebrating the festival of colors with friends in Delhi.
The disturbing footage, shared on her Twitter page before she said she was taking it down because of the backlash it caused, has gone viral since the alleged attack on Wednesday.
It shows five or six men and boys vigorously smearing the woman’s face with colors and even slapping an egg on her head as they slide her between them, all shouting “happy Holi.”
The tourist, who says she has now left the country, wrote on Twitter: “I love everything about India, I’ve been there many times and it’s a fascinating country. It’s a beautiful country that you can’t hate even if you receive this incident.
A Japanese woman was sexually assaulted by a group of men during the Hindu Holi celebrations
She added in her Tweet, which has been translated from Japanese, that “India and Japan will forever be ‘Tomodachi’,” a phrase meaning friends.
The incident reportedly took place on March 8 in the Paharganj area of the capital, which is popular with Western backpackers, including Britons.
Swati Maliwal, the chairman of the Delhi Commission for Women, has since described seeing a number of videos of incidents of sexual harassment against foreign tourists during Holi celebrations in the area this year.
She said she is sending a message to Delhi Police to look into the videos and calling for the arrest of those guilty of the “completely shameful behaviour”.
Amid a wave of support and outrage over her treatment, the Japanese tourist has apologized for the outrage it has caused.
She stressed on Twitter that it had not been her intention to show the negative side of Holi, but rather the “joy” of the festival.
But, she explained, she was aware of the risks of attending the festival, where women have been the target of vicious attacks in recent years.
She said she went with 35 other friends and, despite the shocking nature of the footage, had help from the cameraman and others to escape the aggressive men.
In the clip, which MailOnline does not want to share, the woman can be heard repeatedly telling her attackers “itai, itai,” which is Japanese for “it hurts.”
The video has sparked outrage over women’s safety during the Hindu festival, which is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and water at each other (stock image)
She is pushed around and grabbed by the jeering men, who pelt her with colors and hold her in place while rubbing her head with them.
She eventually slaps it as it launches toward her, before she can slip down an alleyway.
Three people, including a minor, have now been arrested in connection with the attack.
The tourist said she has now left the country and is currently in Bangladesh.
Following calls from many across India for justice to be brought over the disturbing images, she said police have now contacted her.
“In the aftermath of this incident, the police have pledged to take tougher action, and we hope that harassment against women will significantly decrease in the Holi festival from next year,” she wrote.
The video has raised serious concerns about women’s safety during the Hindu festival, which is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and water at each other.
It’s just the latest case of what has come to be known as ‘Holi harassment’ India.
For years, women have complained about being harassed and groped by men under the pretense of applying color.
In another shocking incident during Holi celebrations this year, a 65-year-old woman was reportedly beaten to death by a group of six in Balbadda, Jharkhand.
The mother, named Bucchi Devi, had tried to prevent the perpetrators from applying colors to her son Murari.
Both were thrashed by the group until they lost consciousness, and soon after, Murari awoke to find his mother lying dead, according to local reports.
The incident reportedly took place in the Paharganj area of the capital (pictured), which is popular with western backpackers, including the British (stock image)
Holi harassment has sparked angry protests in recent years, with women drawing attention to the darker side of the festival of colors.
In 2021, two teenage girls were raped in a forest area in Tripura, Northeast India by eight men who were later arrested by the local police.
The girls, aged 14 and 15, had celebrated the festival when they went for a walk with two of the suspects.
In 2018, there were protests among female students in India’s capital, with many taking to social media to highlight how uncomfortable the festival can be for women.
In addition to smearing colors without permission, women described how water balloons thrown at them could be filled with disgusting substances, as well as eggs and mud being hurled.
A post by student Tolino Chishi, claiming that someone had thrown a “sperm-filled balloon” at her, went viral and sparked protests against harassment on the Delhi University campus.
