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Does it feel like you are just watching the #MeToo movement from a distance? No, you too have a role to play, and here's how you can show support #MeToo in your daily life.
Does it feel like you are just watching the #MeToo movement from a distance? No, you too have a role to play, and here’s how you can show support #MeToo in your daily life.
A few days ago I happened to be in conversation with an acquaintance and the topic of the me too movement popped up. Like a lot of us, he too had the same kind of questions. “Why now?” “Why not before?” “Where is the proof?”
In every household, office and department, #MeToo stories are making rounds. Some of us are involved while some of us are mere watchers. Or, that’s what we decide to believe. After the conversation I realised that a lot of people who ask similar questions, are scared.
According to a Times of India article, The YouGov India survey of 1,000 urban Indian adults was conducted between October 16-22. Overall, 76% of urban Indians believe that sexual harassment is a very serious problem in India. It also says that every second urban male is now ‘over cautious’ while interacting with women.
Another day, one of my ex-colleagues said, “The educated youth is now compelled to re-examine their approach towards women. Because you never know, which of your actions can be found offensive.”
So it’s time for us to ask, why are these people over cautious or in other words, scared?
People are scared because they aren’t sure which actions in the past have the potential to turn against them.
Which means, people are still not sure if they have unknowingly crossed the line that separates normal conduct from sexual misconduct. So for once, let me clarify what normal conduct is and when it can be termed as misconduct.
Any kind of touch is a misconduct if makes the other person uncomfortable.
Sex without consent even if the person is your spouse or girlfriend is sexual misconduct.
Asking for sex in return for a favour is misconduct.
Cracking lewd jokes that insult a particular person or gender is misconduct. Famous comedians like Tanmay Bhatt and Utsav Chakraborty have recently been named as culprits for such behaviour. Humor is not humor if it makes the other person cringe.
Texting and calling someone in the middle of the night, drunk. Rings a bell?
To summarise, any action that makes the other person uncomfortable and awkward can be termed as misconduct. And that makes it a subject for deep introspection. Haven’t we all felt that kind of discomfort at some point? With a friend, a colleague, boss, family member or even a stranger? Haven’t we ever witnessed any such acts?
I feel that the agitation caused by the #MeToo movement in India is a success in itself. Conduct that men and women once considered normal, is now evaluated with great care. Every day more and more women are coming out to speak about their personal #MeToo story. But inspite of all this, crime against women is still on the rise and there is still a long way to go.
Instead of waiting for the powerful and the influential to join in, ‘We’ on an individual basis need to do our part first. I am strongly of the opinion that each and every one of us has a role to play here. Some of us must have fought it back while a lot of us remained silent. Some of us might have been spectators. But that makes all of us, part of the game. Little things we do every day speak a lot about our support towards the movement. Little things that we assume are ‘normal’ and perfectly ‘harmless’ show how strongly we feel towards misconduct against women.
If you truly support the #MeToo movement, please show your solidarity by avoiding these kind of situations.
Small actions of significance from each of us can make a huge difference in the society in the future. Are you with #Metoo ?
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What I loved was how there is so much in the movie of the SRK we have known, and also a totally new star. The gestures, the smile, the wit and the charisma are all too familiar, but you also witness a rawness, an edginess.
When a movie that got the entire nation in a twist – for the right and wrong reasons – hits the theatres, there is bound to be noise. From ‘I am going to watch it – first day first show’ to ‘Boycott the movie and make it a flop’, social media has been a furore of posts.
Let me get one thing straight here – I did not watch Pathaan to make a statement or to simply rebel as people would put it. I went to watch it for the sheer pleasure of witnessing my favourite superstar in all his glory being what he is best at being – his magnificent self. Because when it comes to screen presence, he burns it, melts it and then resurrects it as well like no other. Because when it comes to style and passion, he owns it like a boss. Because SRK is, in a way, my last connecting point to the girl that I once was. Though I have evolved into so many more things over the years, I don’t think I am ready to let go of that girl fully yet.
There is no elephant in the room really here because it’s a fact that Bollywood has a lot of cleaning up to do. Calling out on all the problematic aspects of the industry is important and in doing that, maintaining objectivity is also equally imperative. I went for Pathaan for entertainment and got more than I had hoped for. It is a clever, slick, witty, brilliantly packaged action movie that delivers what it promises to. Logic definitely goes flying out of the window at times and some scenes will make you go ‘kuch bhi’ , but the screenplay clearly reminds you that you knew all along what you were in for. The action sequences are lavish and someone like me who is not exactly a fan of this genre was also mind blown.
Recent footage of her coming out of an airport had comments preaching karma and its cruel ways, that Samantha "deserved her illness" because she filed for divorce.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu fell from being the public’s sweetheart to a villain overnight because she filed for divorce. The actress was struck with myositis post divorce, much to the joy of certain groups (read sexist) in our society.
A troll responded to Samantha’s tweet, “Women Rising!!” by adding to it “just to fall”. She replied, “Getting back up makes it all the more sweeter, my friend.”
Here’s another insensitive tweet by BuzZ Basket showing fake concern for her autoimmune disease. “Feeling sad for Samantha, she lost all her charm and glow. When everyone thought she came out of divorce strongly and her professional life was seeing heights, myositis hit her badly, making her weak again.” Samantha responded, “I pray you never have to go through months of treatment and medication like I did. And here’s some love from me to add to your glow.”
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