#MeToo

Letter October 18, 2017
On October 15th, social media all over the world was taken over by the hashtag ‘Me, too’

KARACHI: On October 15th, social media all over the world was taken over by the hashtag ‘Me, too’. A trend started by actor Alyssa Milano through her Twitter account encouraging women who’d been sexually harassed or assaulted to tweet the words #MeToo. In a matter of minutes the #MeToo was one of the top trends globally, with women accounting their personal accounts of harassment or just typing the two words to count themselves in. But how much of a difference accounting one’s story is actually going to do? Yes, it’s going to let survivors know they are not alone and the magnitude of the trend will make people realise how much of a problem it actually is. But haven’t women done this before?

Statistics after statistics have been reported mentioning the number of women who have been sexually harassed. Recently, Karachi — according to a poll by Reuters — was listed as the second most unsafe city for women. But how does it help address the problem? The truth is, it doesn’t. And it won’t until men are brought into the conversation — as perpetrators, as allies, as a solution. If four out of five women you know have been a survivor of assault, then four out of five men you know have been harassers. And it is where the discussion needs to start, by bringing the perpetrators on the forefront and making them uncomfortable.

Ramsha Waqas

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2017.

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