Maryam Tillayeva talks about being attacked by a stranger on the street

27-year-old Maryam Tillayeva, the granddaughter of Uzbekistan's first president Islam Karimov, is preparing for a wedding with Arno Kosyan. Maryam, who was a participant in the second season of Russia's reality show “Stavka na lyubov” (“Love Bet”), said that although she is not interested in dating men, she spoke to the VOICE publication about how certain individuals have harassed her.

According to Tillayeva, recently while she was heading out for dinner at a restaurant, a stranger approached her on the street. Maryam was wearing high heels and walking without a bodyguard.

The man got out of his car and said, "Beautiful, I want to get to know you." Maryam replied that she did not want to get acquainted. Despite this, the stranger reversed his car and continued to follow her. Then he got out of his car, called out to her again, and grabbed her by the hand.

"I think you didn't understand me. I don't want to get acquainted," Maryam shouted at him, demanding that he let go of her hand.

This incident severely frightened the blogger. She said that even after arriving at the restaurant, she sat shaking for a long time, unable to pull herself together.

"I got so scared. My whole body was trembling then. I arrived at the restaurant, but I couldn't calm down and sat shaking for a long time. I didn't know what would happen next. He could have dragged me into his car and taken me somewhere," Tillayeva said.

Maryam admitted that she was stunned at the moment. She emphasized that if such a situation arises again in the future, she will definitely call the police.

Noting that she grew up in America, Tillayeva pointed out that the attitude toward women's personal boundaries is somewhat different there.

"I grew up in America, where even a simple compliment paid to a woman can be considered a violation of personal boundaries. Here, however, a man ran out of a car and chased after me," she said.

Maryam recalled another similar incident. When she was arguing with her boyfriend over the phone in a taxi in the United States, the driver put his hand on her knee to calm her down. Tillayeva expressed her dissatisfaction, shouted, and demanded that the driver take her to her boyfriend.

After telling her boyfriend about the incident, he advised Maryam to file a complaint against the driver. Tillayeva said she did so, and the support service took the situation seriously and apologized multiple times. She was also provided with travel credits, and the driver was fired. The blogger said she was about 18 years old at the time.

Tillayeva stated that situations like this have made her think about the importance of speaking openly regarding personal boundaries for women.

"I think we need educational programs that help men better understand what kind of behavior is inappropriate and can frighten a woman. Furthermore, it is important that girls are not afraid to speak openly about this," Maryam concluded.

Earlier, Maryam Tillayeva announced that she was postponing her wedding with Arno Kosyan. Although she stated that this was due to mutual disagreements, she emphasized that she has not given up the idea of marrying her boyfriend. They just needed more time to organize the wedding.