On Saturday, the Dindoshi Sessions Court granted Alok Nath anticipatory bail in the case filed against him by Vinta Nanda alleging rape. Even as the news comes as a shocker to most, Vinta expresses no disappointment in the court’s order. On the contrary she says, “I haven’t read the court’s order as yet but I believe the anticipatory bail given to him is on the basis of certain conditions. Alok cannot leave the country and he cannot be seen anywhere around the periphery of where I live, are two of the conditions laid out by the judge among others.” Vinita still has faith in the country’s legal system and is content with what the law decides.
But on the brighter side of things, she is pleased with the progress made by the #MeToo movement in India. She says, “There’s been a seismic shift and the system now includes and legitimises women in the workforce.
The industry has been restructured at every level to include Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) across all associations, studios, networks and production houses. This will henceforth ensure that women in the workplace are safe without having to worry about basic amenities like toilets etc., and fear being exploited. All of the above that I say has happened in the last three months. Could we have asked for more?”
Vinita Nanda is also relieved that victims of sexual aggression can now speak out against their perpetrators with no fear, “Women will no longer have to fear having to suffer in silence when injustice is meted upon them,” she avers.
But despite these developments, Vinita believes India still has a long way to go before we see real change in effect.
“We are a country in which marital rape is given permission because it is not criminalised. Over 80 percent of women who are married are rendered vulnerable to rape. It’s a very disturbing reality. It is because there are some men who believe they can get away with anything they do at home, that they are emboldened to do it outside their homes and in their workplace too.”
