If there is one thing that defined last year then it would be the astonishing number of women who spoke up against sexual assault, post the #MeToo campaign.
The last few months of 2017 was all about survivors saying #MeToo, propelling men such as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey to publicly apologise for their behaviour. The new year began with celebrities turning up in black at the recently concluded Golden Globe Awards and men sporting a pin that said #TimesUp. However, there is a conspicuous absence of the same when it comes to Bollywood. Kalki Koechlin, who has been an extremely vocal feminist, in an interview to BBC News revealed the reason on why women in Bollywood are yet to take a stand on sexual harassment.
Watch the video here:
Courtesy: BBC News
“People don’t listen to you if you are a nobody, but if you are a celebrity it only becomes a shocking headline,” Koechlin reasons in the video. She also talks about the extreme pressure celebrities face while talking openly about such experiences. “It is a very difficult step to take. Because it’s their career on the line. You are dealing with hundreds of people throwing their opinions at you,” she says, adding that “it can shake you emotionally.” Koechlin, who has in the past spoken about being sexually abused, said sexual harassment is so rampant and pervasive that women have become numb to it and men are yet to comprehend the seriousness of the situation.