India’s moment of reckoning
September 2018, when Brett Kavanaugh was fighting accusations of Sexual Harassment with an angry outburst at the Senate confirmation committee , something vital was brewing in the Patriarchal society of India , Tanushree Dutta , abandoned her silence & absence on the big screen and reiterated her accusations of sexual harassment against veteran actor Nana Patekar dating back to 2008. Back in 2008, she wasn’t taken seriously & was “driven out from Bollywood”, after the accused had powerful friends, but this time things were going to be different.
Utsav Chakraborty, a former member of AIB, the so-called “Crusaders of Feminism & equal rights in India” was accused of sexual harassment by a fellow writer & comedian. She also went ahead & exposed the hypocrisy of Tanmay Bhatt (founder of AIB). In the subsequent days, we came to know, that Tanmay even though had been made aware of the accusation took no actions or stand against Utsav & continued to work with him. This led to a widespread condemnation of AIB following which Tanmay had to step away from AIB. But this incident breathed life to the #MeToo movement in India and so began a domino effect. Large numbers of women have come forward with their harrowing tales of abuse on Twitter & other forms of Social Media platforms, where they’ve been subjected to sexual harassment & inappropriate behavior. Since then several Bollywood bigwigs, media moguls, writers & even a BJP union minister has been named & shamed for their behaviors by their victims. But there is one common template at work in all these cases, let it be media mogul Suhel Seth or Union minister A J Akbar or an established director like Vivek Agnihotri or writer Chetan Bhagat, or yesteryears top music director Anu Malik, each one of these predators had misused their positions of power to take advantage of their victims fearing no retribution.
India in a report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of 548 experts on women’s issues, ranked India as the Most Dangerous country in the world based on violence against women. Unsurprisingly India’s Patriarchal society took time to stand up & raise its #MeToo movement. The reasons for this delayed response can be attributed to a myriad of reasons ranging from victim shaming to inadequate laws, societal taboo towards anything remotely related with sex and finally the power the offenders had over their victims. But the brave victims rose to the occasion and since then accusations against many prominent personalities have been labeled.
The high level of disparity between men & women occupying positions of influence in almost all sectors in India starting from Corporate India to Bollywood means the predators get ample opportunities to stake out their victims. Either with promises of a better future in a cut-throat industry like Bollywood (see Anu Malik) or a chance to exchange ideas on your next novel (see-Chetan Bhagat), these predators get an unprecedented upper hand with their victims. While some victims resist and escape others aren’t that lucky.
While many personalities have advocated the movement & have shown solidarity with the victims, there still remains a large part of society who believe victims cried wolf far too late & let themselves be exploited for personal gains. While the trolls may have a point in some cases, they effectively scare away other genuine victims with their shaming.
As more & more familiar faces are accused of something heinous, we think of going on the defensive. We try to squeeze out excuses for them. And herein lies the biggest challenge that we have to face as a civilized country. Sexual offenders or assaulters can’t be defined by any race, caste or their genders. All victims should be heard without having to live with the shame or ridicule. While we cannot take every accusation on its face value, it’s vital that we support & believe the survivors. Equally the accused must be given an equal chance for their defense.
Indian laws & mentality regarding protection against sexual harassment are inherently archaic. We as responsible citizens must make this movement count. We must ensure laws ensuring protection against exploitation & create awareness among the public about the same. Indian resilience with the #MeToo movement will be vital. India is one of the countries where the disparity in the sex ratio in STEM is highest leading to a large untapped potential. When we believe and for women & their rights, give them ample and equal opportunities for their development, India could then rightly be given the tag of largest democracy.
