The #MeToo campaign has gathered steam across the country, with women from the fields of journalism and film ‘outing’ the biggest perpetrators. Does this herald a new era for women’s rights? Perhaps not. Women may continue to suffer in silence even now, for those speaking out are a fraction of the whole. And Bollywood movement or no, actresses in the South are still afraid to open up. Even so, it’s a tremendous start. Darshana Ramdev and Shashi Prasad S.M. report
When Nasreen Khan first walked into the Times of India office in Kolkata, back in 2013, she thought her dreams had finally come true. Like so many women from conservative backgrounds, even the mere act of finding a job was seen as a kind of rebellion from the family values and notions that prevailed. So, when she found herself in the hands of an abusive editor, Nasreen Khan had no choice but to go it alone.
Telling her family, she was convinced, would result in them asking her to leave the media. Instead, she put her faith in the police and found soon enough that her trust had been well and truly misplaced. "The thought that prompted me to go on was that, if I did not fight now, tomorrow my daughter might join this profession and I did not want her to face anything like this. I had hoped that TOI would live up to its brand building activities that played with emotions connected to social issues, pretending to promote social change. Instead, they put the entire BCCL (Bennet Coleman Co Ltd) machinery in place to fight an ordinary woman!"
It starts out in the most ordinary ways. The problems that women face on a daily basis are manifold - to us, walking the streets after a certain time of night calls for caution. The clothes we choose to wear call for caution. Women have become accustomed to second-guessing everything they do and say, because even the most innocuous remark or implication might be taken for ‘the signal’. Not having a ride home, moving alone to a new city and findng a new job - we must learn the strings on our own. Support, even if it appears to be forthcoming, seldom is. Even the men and women who speak in solidarity with the rest, disappear into the woodwork, facing matters of sexual harassment with stony silences, denial and outright support for the accused.
VISHAKA, FORGOTTEN
Ghazala Wahab, the executive editor at FORCE newsmagazine, took to her social media handle on October 6, just like hundreds of other women joining the #metoo campaign. "I tweeted on October 6 that, "I wonder when the floodgates will open about @mjakbar), was her prescient observation. She didn't have too long to wait. Some nine women have accused the celebrated journalist of sexually harassing them, threatening them if they didn't comply, forcing himself on women against their will and inviting them to his hotel room for nightcaps. Like so many other journalists of her generation, Ghazala Wahab grew up idolising M.J. Akbar, and was thrilled when she landed a job at his Delhi office. “But the illusion had to shatter. Akbar wore his erudition lightly. A little too lightly. He screamed, he swore and he drank in the office. 'You are too small town-ish', a senior colleague rapped me. So I swallowed my small-townish mentality and for the next two years accepted everything as part of the office culture - Akbar's f
lirtation with young sub-editors, his blatant favouritism and his bawdy jokes."
Rajat Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Alok Nath
Young and gullible, the nuances of 'office protocol' baffled Wahab. Until M.J. Akbar caught sight of her. "Once in autumn of 1997, while I was half-squatting over the dictionary, he sneaked up behind me and held me by my waist. I stumbled in sheer fright while struggling to get to my feet. He ran his hands from my breast to my hips. I tried pushing his hands away, but they were plastered on my waist..."
K.R. Sreenivas, and Kailash Kher
Again, Wahab had no place to go. Seema Mustafa, then bureau chief, was unsurprised but simply told her the call was hers. Things culminated in her sending a resignation and fleeing back home. Akbar would call her in a rage when he heard. Wahab returned to journalism and to Delhi - "I was determined not to be a victim, and not let one monster's debauchery ruin my career, even though occasionally I had nightmares. Maybe now, the nightmares will stop."
Prashant Jha
If this isn't bad enough, the buck doesn't stop with women. Comedian Kaneez Surka spoke out against the celebrated female comic Aditi Mittal. She claimed, on Twitter, that Aditi had come up to her on stage at an event and kissed her on the mouth. Aditi, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the most vociferous supporters of the #MeToo movement.
SOLIDARITY FROM WOMEN
Social media has been in an uproar, where critics and naysayers of the #metoo campaign abound. Perhaps the greatest outrage has been caused by the silence of those whose voices are loudest. Then again, perhaps this is no cause for surprise: the same media houses that have built their brands by acting as warriors for social causes, are the same institutions in the dock today.
Actress Swara Bhaskar, who started the Me Too movement in 2017, maintains a curious restraint now, as women turn their guns on stars from the standup comedy world. However, tweets that appear to placate tainted comedians like Kunal Kamra, has fetched her some backlash. Several female journalists found themselves under fire too, for similar reasons.
CONSENT
'She was drunk'. 'They were both drunk'. 'She went back to his house'. 'Can you prove anything'? Comedian Utsav Chakraborty enraged women across the country with his lack of remorse. Varun Grover, the screenwriter and comedian, denied all the allegations made against him, "I completely, totally, categorically deny all the allegations being made. Really unfortunate that these completely fabricated and defamatory allegations have been made on me."
That started off another debate, about the validity of claims made anonymously, as the Twitter community raged on about the problem of evidence. And for every woman who speaks out, as well as for those who stay silent, there are those who refuse to acknowledge the problem. At a time when a single voice can make or break a victim’s life, we need to support each other even more.
#MeToo might not bring us to the truth of the matter but for now, it's a chance for women, who have stayed silent for decades, oppressed by patriarchy, to finally be heard.
And India is listening.
