The good and bad side of #MeToo!!

A day doesn't go by without a story about another celebrity's reputation in tatters. Every actor in the film industry is spending sleepless nights trying to remember whether they did anything in the past 20 - 30 years for which they have to face acquisitions NOW.  The sexual harassment movement of #MeToo, exposing the dark sides of celebrities on social media which has started in New York, is catching up like a wildfire even in India. 

What is good about the #MeToo movement?

In India, it started with actress Tanushree Dutta accusing Nana Patekar of sexual harassment. This has encouraged many women to come forward and speak out their experiences. There are many Actors, directors, producers, music directors and even lyricists involved in this. One after the other, dozens of women started sharing their stories of sexual abuse on social media. There are big names like Kangana Ranaut, Chinmayi, Alisha Chinai, Sandhya Mridul, Sruti Hariharan etc., who came up with their #Metoo incidents. The #Metoo movement has heightened the awareness among women, not to silently face the abuse, but come out and open up in public platforms.

This is a good thing. A person who misbehaved with a woman and got away due to his success and popularity, are being exposed now. Better late than never, he is facing its consequences. The movement has given encouragement to women, who otherwise, have faced the abuse silently.

It will be a lesson to men who even think of misbehaving with women.  It will create safe workplaces for women and have given new wings to women.

The Bad side of #Metoo movement:

Source: Wikipedia

"In the 1990s, singer Alisha Chinai had also accused Malik at the time of molesting her but had to face legal challenges in doing so. She filed a case against him and demanded Rs 26.60 lakhs, whereas, in return, Malik had filed a defamation case asking for Rs. 2 crores from Chinai. Chinai eventually won the legal battle in an "unprecedented landmark verdict and a restraining order was passed against him." She vowed to never work with Malik again but eventually forgave him, and sang for him in a song in the film Ishq Vishq, which Malik musically directed; the two even judged a season of Indian Idol together."

Now tell me, why did she go back and work with Anu Malik again? She has to progress in her career and earn more money. Do you think such women have a right to say #MeToo after 28 years and defame a person who is at the peak of his career? 

This is not a single example, but all the women who are raising their voices now, have compromised and worked with the same persons again and again. I feel this has encouraged the men to proceed with their advancements even with other female co-workers.

In my opinion, a strong woman does not wait for a #MeToo movement, or 10, 20, 30 years to express her grievances. A strong woman would give a slap then and there. A woman waiting for a #MeToo movement was scared to give him a slap at that time because she was scared to lose the opportunities. She tolerated the molestation, sexual advancements for her selfish mottos and now, just because she got an opportunity, she is putting the entire blame on the other person. According to Indian laws, a person who does not stop the crime is also equally punishable.

All said and done, the power of social media and #MeToo movement has to be appreciated because it is creating a new chapter in Women Empowerment globally.