Rape survivor Sunitha Krishnan Lambasts Salman

Rape survivor Sunitha Krishnan Lambasts Salman

Rape survivor and Social Activist Sunitha Krishnan in a letter to Salman Khan has lambast the actor for trivializing the crime

Mangaluru: Salman’s doltish, insensitive rape joke has elicited mixed responses from the masses; while a majority of the people have chastised the Bollywood star, some celebrities, like Pooja Bedi, decided to cut him some slack citing that he wasn’t really being insensitive while passing that comment. Anurag Kashyap, while condemning Salman’s act, has made a valid point by stating that the blame equally falls on those who laughed at that comment, instead of questioning the same. The movie fraternity has a divided say on the controversy, but the person whose opinion really matters will be that of someone who survived a gruesome crime like rape, that leaves deep physical and emotional scars behind.

A rape survivor will never find Salman’s comment funny, and social activist Sunitha Krishnan is no exception. Sunitha, who was recently conferred with the Padma Shri Award, has penned a compelling open letter to the actor, lambasting the latter for trivializing the crime. Sunitha was gang raped as a teenager, and her letter resonates with anger towards the apathetic society that overlooks rape jokes, and influential people in the society like Salman, who fail to live up to the responsibility that comes with fame.

Through her letter, Sunita reminds why rape jokes are equally as unacceptable as rape. She writes:

“I do not wish to take the name of the person in question because I feel it would be an act of giving him too much respect. The fact that he could easily compare himself to being raped shows how badly he has trivialized rape and rape culture. The harsh truth is that good looks and some talent made him the star that he is and he takes this role very lightly. With such fame, comes responsibility. Instead of being aware of this, he has basically compared the scars, trauma and abuse of a rape victim to his role in a movie.”

“I keep hearing men and women making such remarks and recently too, I found a woman who made a joke along these lines. She used to say ‘I was raped by this’ or ‘I was raped by that’ with no thought on the repercussions of these statements.What we need to remember is rape culture is around us and all of these trivializing remarks add to it. As far as I can say, only perverts can make such statements. He is a disgrace.”

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has said that the actor would be issued a summons if he fails to apologize within a week.

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