
It started with actress Tanushree Dutta, who’s now based in the US, recently accusing actor Nana Patekar of sexual impropriety on the sets of the film ‘Horn Ok Pleassss’ an incident that took place 10 years ago. It went on to, more recently, actress Kangana Ranaut being incentivised to come out in the media about sexual harassment at the hands of film director Vikas Bahl, who directed her in the film ‘Queen’ — for which she went on to win a National Award. It has travelled further afield into the media now, with an article in FirstPost, the online news website that details the horrors of victims of well-known stand-up comedians and journalists who played predator on hapless women. The women, it seems, were sent lewd messages and pictures as well as sexually propositioned. As a result, the #MeToo hashtag (for justice for sexually harassed women) which began in Hollywood a year ago and led to movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and actor Bill Cosby’s fall may have arrived in India finally! While one must admit that the finer details of the events can make for a fairly nauseating read, what will finally come out of this interesting civil society movement may be worthwhile. It is certainly an indication that the world is changing and gender justice is increasingly gathering momentum. If it succeeds in creating a safer society and workplaces within which women can operate without fear, it will certainly be worth all the muckraking that is currently taking place!