On Saturday, a Japanese woman who was subjected to harassment by a group of men on Holi expressed her thoughts on the incident via Twitter, describing it as “unfortunate”.
On Thursday, the woman shared a video of the incident on Twitter. However, she deleted it shortly afterward. Regarding this, she explained that she was “terrified” by the responses to the video, and thus decided to remove the tweet.
“On March 9th, I tweeted a video of the Indian festival Holi, but after that, the number of RTs and DMs increased more than I had imagined, and I was terrified, so I deleted the tweet.
I sincerely apologize to those who were offended by the video,” she tweeted.
3月9日にインドのお祭り「ホーリー」中の動画をツイートしましたが、その後想像以上にRTやDMが増えて恐怖を覚え、ツイートを削除させていただきました。
— 🇮🇳めぐみこ (@megumiko_india) March 11, 2023
動画を見て気分を害された方におかれましては、誠に申し訳ございません。
“I had heard that it was very dangerous for a woman to go out alone during the daytime at the Holi festival, an Indian festival that I participated in, so I participated in the event with a total of 35 other friends,” she said.
The video depicts several men playing Holi with a foreign girl who appears to be ‘uncomfortable’ with their conduct.
The woman also praised Holi stating, “The original Holi festival is a wonderful and fun traditional festival with the purpose of celebrating the arrival of spring by pouring colored powder and water on each other and enjoying it regardless of skin color or social status. (There are various theories)”
The woman, however, apologised for causing concern and anxiety by sharing videos on social media, stating that the aim was to convey positive aspects of the Indian festival and not the negative ones.
“However, I sincerely apologize for causing concern to many people through videos and Twitter. I would like to express my sincere apologies for causing concern and anxiety in many ways, even though my goal was to convey the positive aspects and joys of India. really sorry,” she tweeted.
本来のホーリーというお祭りは、色の粉や水お互いにかけ合い、肌の色や身分に関係なく無礼講に楽しみ、春の到来をお祝いするという趣旨の素晴らしく、楽しい伝統のあるお祭りです。(諸説あり)
— 🇮🇳めぐみこ (@megumiko_india) March 11, 2023
Additionally, the woman conveyed her affection for India and stated, “I adore everything about India. I have visited the country numerous times, and it never fails to fascinate me. India and Japan will always be ‘Tomodachi’ (friends).”
The Delhi Police had apprehended three people in relation to the molestation and abuse of the woman after the video posted by her had gone viral on social media. One of the offenders is a juvenile and all three are from the Paharganj area of central Delhi. She didn’t file a complaint against anyone yet, they had added.
