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The post of a survivor who decided to speak up and expose her tormentor goes viral. Here's to more women speaking up.
The post of a survivor who decided to speak up and expose her tormentor goes viral. Here’s to more women speaking up.
“Uff. Please don’t slap me for saying this, but your breasts are gorgeous.”
This was just one of the many sexually explicit messages, allegedly sent by undergraduate student Eklavya Chaudhuri of the English Department of Jadavpur University, to over a dozen women over a three-year period, via texts, online messages and molestation.
Their ordeal came to light when one of the survivors decided to break the silence and came out into the open exposing her tormentor(s). The extent of the abuse became clear when more and more women, many of them being the batch-mates of the accused and some even minors, decided to call it enough and joined the chorus demanding justice.
The survivor who first raised her voice against the accused said that even after filing a complaint last year, the accused failed to mend his ways and kept repeating the offence time and again. In fact, she says that after she filed her last complaint a female friend of the accused from a different University started abusing and bullying her relentlessly by starting a smear campaign both online and offline.
After the survivor exposed her tormentor(s) on Facebook, many have come out in her support by calling out the harassment openly.
The survivors released a joint statement and two of them have also filed formal complaints while others have been receiving legal counselling on how to proceed further. A Change.org petition has also been started demanding action from the authorities of the institution(s) and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The hallmark of this case is the sheer number of women who were sexually harassed by the accused relentlessly, although many were initially hesitant to speak up. The fear of ‘bringing a bad name’ to oneself and the family trumps the need to expose the abuser in many cases in India.
The survivor’s calling out of the harassment wasn’t received well by one of his female friends. So instead of standing up for her sorority she decided to stick by her friend, his despicable actions and re-victimise the survivors by bullying them further.
Yes, it is important to stand by our friends but the call of friendship shouldn’t be blind. We should be able to differentiate between right and wrong even though it involves our friends.
Image: Woman says stop by Shutterstock
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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