Women's safety has become a crisis in India, says Swara Bhaskar

Bhasker opened up on the consequences faced by victims of rape


Entertainment Desk September 27, 2019
PHOTO: TIMES OF INDIA

Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker has opened up on the consequences faced by victims of rape, and raised a serious question on women's safety, reported Times of India.

"Women's safety has become a crisis in India. We have a situation where at least three high profile members, who hold elected office are accused of rape. The victims have had to face serious personal consequences for reporting rape. This is an alarming situation for our entire society. We need our lawmakers to walk the talk with regards to women's safety," Swara shared.

PHOTO: HINDUSTAN TIMES PHOTO: HINDUSTAN TIMES

The victim in the Unnao case, who was allegedly kidnapped and raped by expelled Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao in 2017, had an accident in July this year. She was admitted to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for two months and discharged yesterday. Now her family fears going back to their hometown because they are apprehensive about their safety.

The law student who has accused BJP leader Chinmayanand of rape, has been arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police on charges of extortion and blackmailing. The Shahjahanpur student has alleged that she was raped by Chinmayanand for over a year.

PHOTO: NDTV PHOTO: NDTV

Swara has raised her voice regarding the consequences faced by these rape victims. On Thrusday, she tweeted reacting to the news of the Chinmayanand victim's arrest shared by a journalist. "Beti inhi se bachao!! (Save your daughter from such people) Shame!!" she wrote.

The actor also shared how she was trolled after tweeting her opinion. "I tweeted regarding the same and one user/ troll made fun of the victim''s ordeal by asking if I was raped as well, with a smile at the end of the sentence. I reacted by using an expletive because I feel that sometimes people who use abusive language or try to sl*t shame women by cracking rape jokes need to be reminded that women can swear as well," she said.

Bhaskar says there are a lot of opportunities to work in Pakistan. PHOTOS: FILE Bhaskar says there are a lot of opportunities to work in Pakistan. PHOTOS: FILE

Taking a dig at misogynists, Bhaskar added, "I don''t think it''s fair to expect women to brave the risk of being raped, the threat of arrest if it''s reported and also bear the burden of being dignified in the face of abuse. Sometimes misogynists have to hear it like it is."

On the work front, Swara will next be seen in a web series titled Rasbhari. She has also started working on her own production, a movie based on the life of a con artist.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below. 

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ