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The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) recently revoked the suspension of actor Dileep who was arrested for allegedly being involved in the abduction and sexual assault of a well-known Malayalam actress.
Actresses Rima Kallingal, Remya Nambeesan and director Geetu Mohandas, also members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) have resigned from the association enraged by this step taken by AMMA while Dileep is still under investigation.
Dileep has been accused of hiring four men to abduct and assault the actress as well as shoot videos of the assault. It has been suspected that Dileep did to this in retaliation for the long-standing bad-blood between two. The assault survivor has also accused Dileep of taking away many acting opportunities from her and trying to end her career in Mollywood.
It is shameful how the system supports men even when they are accused of heinous crimes. Money definitely has a role to play in it as Dileep’s absence might cause a loss of Rs 60 crore to the industry, with his upcoming movies delayed or not released at all. He also owns businesses, theatres and a restaurant, and allegedly, has links to various Kerala MLAs. But another factor for the reinstatement of Dileep in AMMA is the deep-seated sexism that is prevalent in society which is always willing to give ‘the benefit of the doubt’ to rich and powerful men whereas the same treatment is never extended towards women.
The AMMA also ignored the earlier complaints made by the actress against Dileep and supported him before his arrest. This incidence reflects how our society doesn’t think twice before slut-shaming women based just on their clothings but speaks up for men even as they are under investigation for criminal offenses. I see no difference between this latest incident and blaming the victim for being raped. Sexual violence is normalised and the big wings of Mollywood industry don’t seem to have a problem with it at all.
Maybe this is caused because of the rape culture that has seeped into the minds of people through misogynist language (ever wondered why most cuss words revolve around women?), objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorisation of sexual violence which is commonly seen in movies. Mammootty’s dialogues in Kasaba are a good illustration of this attitude. As a result, a society that disregards women’s rights and security is formed.
The belief that men are superior, dominant, and sexually aggressive and women the natural ‘prey’ responsible for their own safety, has to change. But how will it change when one of the most influential industries (film) propagates that very idea? More men and women need to protest against the actions taken by the AMMA along with the few who feel their voices are being suppressed.
The increasing instances of violence against women and draconian moral policing in Kerala which is is known for 100% literacy and has the reputation of being progressive is extremely saddening. It shows that no state is free from sexism.
Image is a still from the movie Rama Leela
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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