Relevance: GS Paper I, II (Indian Society, Development & Welfare)
Why has this issue cropped up?
In what has been called India’s MeToo moment, the social media is thick with women coming forth with stories of sexual harassment.
The movement in India
- The testimonies so far have mostly concerned the film world and the mainstream media, and cover both the workplace and private spaces.
- They range from stories of assault to propositioning, suggestiveness to stalking.
- In the vast majority of cases, the naming is a result of the failure to receive a just response from the system, a signal that it is no longer possible for such behaviour to be breezily dismissed or excused because boys, after all, will be boys.
Origin of the MeToo movement
The MeToo hashtag gained currency a year ago in the U.S. when women came out one after another to first corroborate allegations of sexual assault against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The concern
- It is not only that many of the allegations are extremely grave — for instance, against M.J. Akbar, a star editor who left journalism for government, to become a Minister of State for External Affairs.
- What is perhaps of even greater disquiet is that for so very long an official silence was kept around what were, in many instances, open secrets.
Way forward
- Now that women are speaking up there can be no looking away.
- It is important to identify the exact transgression in the various cases that are being outed, and to ensure that action is taken with due process.
- No one can be deemed guilty only because he had been named and any punishment must be proportionate to the misdemeanour. But the larger issue perhaps is the message sent out by the outpouring — namely, that there has been a systemic disregard for making workplaces and common spaces free of harassment.
- Many women thought that their words and feelings would be dismissed, their careers would suffer, or their families would pull them back into the safety of home. This fear of making a complaint needs to be overcome in all workspaces, not only the media and the film industry.
Conclusion
All of society needs to internalise a new normal that protects a woman’s autonomy and her freedom from discrimination at the workplace.
