What is wrong with the MeToo movement in India?
Ever since MeToo movement has gained the momentum in India, it has undoubtedly exposed the harsh reality of sexual harassment that the women have to undergo at various points in time at the hands of their colleagues, bosses and acquaintance at the workplace or outside.
As long as MeToo movement serves the purpose of empowering the women giving them a platform to call out their sexual predators without feeling any shame and fear, I don’t think that anybody should have any problem with it, except for those who are accused. However, the moment it is misused as a tool to falsely implicate an innocent person with the malicious intentions of bringing his reputation down, then the very purpose of this movement gets defeated.
I personally believe that most of the harrowing accounts of sexual harassment being revealed the women are genuine because it takes a lot of guts and courage in the first place to call out the powerful sexual predators, who wielding their money and political power can sometimes even silence the victims, making their lives even worse.
Having said that, I do also believe that some of the accounts of sexual harassment may be either false or are being misinterpreted and misrepresented as the “sexual harassment”. There were a few accounts, in which women had accused the men of sexual harassment for the flirtatious behaviour of the latter. And to put such cases under the category of sexual harassment only dilutes the actual objective of this movement. If that’s the norm to categorise an act as sexual harassment, then this should apply to both the genders
In addition to that, the ferocity with which media trials are being conducted declaring an accused as a convict listening only one side of the story not only supercedes the due procedure of law but also causes the irreparable damage to the accused, in case if he is proved innocent in the court. By saying this, I don’t mean to say that the media should not support this MeToo movement or remain very diplomatic. In fact, it’s the media which gives more strength to the victims to speak out openly against the mighty perpetrators. But supporting a cause shouldn’t amount to labelling someone as a convict either, it’s not for the media to decide who is innocent and who is guilty.
Currently, I am pursuing B.A(H) Political science from Satyawati College, Delhi University.
I like public speaking, writing and reading in my leisure.
