The Girl in the Gym

Moral Majority

They appeared mostly unruffled but were shaken to the core. It had been such a beautiful day for both of them, and this vicious group of people had spoiled it. The episode was far from over, and its backlash would extend over a period of several years.

The video of the fight made its way to facebook, Instagram, twitter and national news even. A tide of feminists came to her aid, but there were twice as many people trolling her online, calling her spiteful names, slandering her.

"Why are they doing this do me? Why are they attacking me?" she asked Jack. He had finished his last couple of days at Zero Bulge and had taken a flat at Napean Sea Road.

"I don't know. They are making it into such a big deal." He was worried about her. She had taken a leave of absence of a few weeks from the gym, but she was not her usual, energetic self. After the article in the Sports magazine had come out, the number of her followers had increased, but so had the nasty remarks on Twitter. It began to make her feel so vulnerable that Jack convinced her to see a therapist.

She started questioning the very existence and place of women in society. In response to the online haters, she framed a statement and posted it on her social media.

'Are the men truly the rulers, while I had so far understood everyone to be equal? This world must get groomed to accept alpha females and our women folk must behave in that manner. Women cannot be the orchestra of male social conductors. We have to be the social lubricants, business mediators and climb to the top of this unfair hierarchy. Don't weaken yourself to flatter the ego of an unworthy male. Rise above, Rise overall'

The sessions with the therapist helped, who made her focus inward and re-empower herself.

"Inaya, you are a self-made woman. You have literally risen from the streets and the slums. You are in a position to do a world of good. Don't let a few idiots take away your identity," the doctor had said. Taking heart from this, she drew inspiration from the feminist groups that had stood in her support.

"I am going to shake off this mantle of invisibility," she told Jack.

"I can't wait to be by your side when you win over the world," he replied, with complete confidence in her.

At a popular newspaper in town, the editor-in-chief was telling her reporter, "Keep an eye on this Inaya girl. I have a feeling that she is going to make the news."

Inaya was sitting far away, at the desk in Jack's room. She was busy writing something on her laptop. Jack had suggested that she channel her rage and put her point across to the world in a structured manner. "When the right people see you as the protector of rights, rather than just an angry young woman, you will be able to use that to your advantage."

Taking his advice, she had started penning her thoughts, and was also thinking of making a vlog. So far she had been at the mercy of the media, but from now on, she was going to control her space and give them something real to talk about.

Meanwhile, Jack came to her with a second, and an even more interesting proposition. "Would you like to go into business with me?"

"Huh?"

"I don't want to work for a boss. Let's start our own lab here in Mumbai. I am sure we can get investors easily."

Ideas mushroomed in Inaya's head as she smiled.

"Let's do it, partner," she said.