Sonu Nigam, I think it’s time you look at where your feet are set: whether on the side of the survivors and those who fight against abuse, or on the territory of powerful men who thrive on the pleasure of sexually assaulting women.
You recently lashed out at victims of sexual abuse who had accused your bro, Anu Malik. You also shamed them and their statements with derogatory terms that any decent person who believes in social justice will not use, and especially not against those seeking justice.
Several women came out naming and shaming Anu Mallik for his sexual assaults, including singers Sona Mahapatra and Shweta Pandit, but you are more concerned about Anu’s image getting tarnished “despite the lack of proof”. You said that people are “respecting the accusers, who are tarnishing Anu Malik’s name”, but by saying so, how are you neutral in any fashion?
If lack of proof makes the victims suspect, then by your logic, the abuser shouldn’t gain respect either. But why did your logic only apply to the victims, and not their alleged abuser?
If only proofs can make us believe the words of sexual assault victims, no doubt, many women would be called liars and the crimes buried deep – as indeed are the countless number of sexual assaults that go unreported, and are dismissed due to lack of evidence.
We can dismiss anyone because of the lack of evidence, and even with abundant evidence, we can choose to dismiss and discredit the claims if we are adamant about defending an alleged abuser.
By defending the accused so openly, and not filtering the venom you spew at victims, you’ve identified yourself as an enabler. You have given the alleged abuser as well as the in-the-closet sexual abusers the support they crave for to continue their hunt.
For the “How can you snatch his bread and butter?” question you asked, Anu Malik isn’t working on minimum wage as far as we can see. If the accusations are going to make him lose his job opportunities, we’d be very glad because it’s usually the victims who are shamed to quit their jobs and not the other way around. Having an abuser at a workplace compromises the safety of others. It creates more victims. Should we silence the victims, or should we kick the abuser out?
This statement isn’t going to help the victims or your sisters if they face sexual abuse, because you are so keen on having proof. It might happen to the women you know very well, and like many sexual assault incidents, it might not be recorded, and when they speak out, name and shame their abusers, will you ask them for proof as well? Not all justice come from an institution such as the court. Sometimes it’s the movements where people, especially the silenced victims from all events of life come together that gets us justice, and not just the institutions.
“So much sympathy for a millionaire losing work? So much empathy for his privileged family being ‘tortured’? How about the scores of girls & women he tortured? Multiple testimonies not proof enough?” – Sona Mahapatra questioned on Twitter.
Sonu Nigam, you talked about this twitter statement as well as the person who made the statement saying, “The respectable lady vomiting on Twitter, is the wife of…”. How can you see a person as just someone’s wife? And most importantly, I’d like to know what definition you have in mind for vomiting. We associate vomiting with sickness, and disgust. Are you disgusted that Sona took a stand against sexual assault? Are you sick that she questions your lack of sympathy and empathy for sexual assault victims?
We don’t want to stoop to the level where we call you, an individual in your own right, as someone’s son, or husband, or friend. We’ll just remember to see you as a someone who defended the sexual abuser. We’ll see you as someone who bared their chest to fight for the abuser; as the person who tried discredited so many women who had the courage to speak up against assault.
If speaking up with survivors of sexual assault is going to get people called a person who’s “vomiting”, let us tell you that we’ll be proud to vomit till enablers like you drown in our raised voices – loud enough to hush the voices like yours supporting sexual abusers.
Curious student for life. Periyar, Ambedkar, & Marx fills my gray matter; but I'm no blind pop-culture follower wearing a Che Guevara on my Tee, but a critical thinker who'll question any regressive read more...
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Falling in love, marriage, a hidden secret, divorce. Despite all this, Vinita noticed her life was full of love that came in various unexpected shades!
“Aap jinke kareeb hotey hain, woh badey kush naseeb hotey hain…”
Just as Vinita was settling down into the cab seat, the driver put on music and the song started to play. It took her back immediately to that evening ten years ago, when Gautam had sung that very same song to her on the first evening they had met. She could remember every single detail of that evening so very clearly.
The driver obliged and immediately stopped the bus for them. Many men got down. They shamelessly lined up just by the side of the bus and peed on the other side of the road.
I work in Pune. My family lives far away from me in a small town along the coast of Konkan. I get to meet them once every fortnight for which I have to take a nine-hour long overnight bus journey.
Violence cases in families have risen since the lockdown came into effect, with the survivors stuck with their abusers in homes. Why?
My friend Anu (name changed) called me late at night; I picked up the call on the very first ring. Late-night calls often jolt me with the thoughts that someone must want to talk desperately! I knew something was wrong as soon as I picked up the call. She was sobbing.
Now it was Akash's turn. As he unwrapped his gift, there was pin-drop silence. He saw people nudging each other. Many could even guess why he was gifted that. There was suppressed laughter.
Now it was Akash’s turn. As he unwrapped his gift, there was pin-drop silence. He saw people nudging each other. Many could even guess why he was gifted that. There was suppressed laughter.
Anu reached office. As she was about to sit in her work bay, she realized her salwar was stained. She quickly wrapped her dupatta around and rushed to the washroom.