As a new American, I feel an immense responsibility to vote for Harris
Rashmi Vyas
First published in the CT Insider and the Hartford Courant
This year was my first time celebrating India’s Independence Day, Aug. 15, as an American citizen.
After living in the United States for 10 years with my Indian passport, I finally decided to give up my Indian citizenship, and pledged allegiance to the United States this April 2024. I wanted to participate in the democracy that has produced presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, who fought for freedom and civil rights. I am not alone. South Asians, be it Indian, Nepalese, Pakistani or Sri Lankan are a new generation of voters — the second-fastest growing immigrant community with about 2 million registered voters.
As Indians around the world celebrated Independence Day from British colonizers, there is a black cloud over the holiday as thousands of protests unfolded across India after an unnamed 31-year-old woman physician was brutally raped and murdered in Kolkata while on call at the hospital.
The floodgates opened for me and for a lot of us. I can’t help but think that this could have been me. It was almost me.
I am reminded of why I left India. I trained to be a physician in the small French territory of Puducherry and worked at a hospital just like the unnamed physician. I worked many nights as an intern in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and walked back to the women’s hostel in the evening after clinical rotations. I struggled with gender roles and patriarchy. I had to fight for my safety whenever I traveled or left the house, always anxious and vigilant of my surroundings. I was sexually assaulted on several occasions — riding my bicycle back home, on the bus or the train.
It’s a trauma I’ve only just started unpacking in therapy and with the support of my family. As I maneuver through life, I am constantly reminded that society doesn’t regard me in the same way it views my brother or even how I view myself. All my life, I strived to fight for my right to feel safe in the gender I was born into. The rape and murder of the young physician is a reminder of those times.
Though the women of my former nationality are worshiped as Devis (Goddesses), sometimes taking the role of Durga (the warrior) other times of Lakshmi or Kamala (the one who sits on the lotus and delivers prosperity) — it’s largely performative. Women have had to sacrifice a lot to have their voice heard in society, government, and even their own homes. And even when they were represented, their voices were stifled.
When I gave up my Indian citizenship, I visualized a better and more equal future for myself and my 3-year-old American daughter. Yet we are still fighting for our right to live freely as women in our own bodies, for choices we want to make for ourselves. More than half of American women and nearly one-third of men have reported sexual violence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network reports one in six American women has been a victim of attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.
Today, as a newly naturalized American citizen and first-time voter, I feel an immense responsibility to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris during this election. In this historic moment, Harris stands before us — the presidential nominee for the democratic party. She is a Black and South Asian woman, who believes in freedom, civil rights. She spent years as a prosecutor putting away sexual predators. Her opponent is a sexual predator.
Vice President Harris represents generations of American women who share the struggle of fighting for our place in society. Whether you were born here, or naturalized and adopted this great country, with her candidacy comes a promise for freedom, choice and a safe haven to
raise your children.
Rashmi Vyas, M.D., is a resident of Westport, CT.
