It’s been a while since the #MeToo wave hit India. The movement spread across various sectors including the entertainment industry, media, among many others. However, ordinary people aren’t part of it. They are mostly involved in sharing opinions and nothing more.
Isn’t this tragic? Yes, it is tragic and I, as part of this common lot, say that we are still not the priority. We still are not empowered enough to use the power as and when required. In case the victim is an ordinary person nothing much changes, neither in the victim’s life nor the accused.
I am glad this has come up, but the way it is shaping up is not something I encourage. Like always we wish to work superficially towards every issue that comes across and fail to touch the root of it.
From where I see, isn’t a #MeToo Movement important for numerous issues and not just one?
We make laws that aren’t comprehensible to the vast uneducated population of our country. This prevents them from accessing these laws. I am talking of the population in India’s rural areas where females go through marital rapes, completely unaware of their physical well- being, health, and their legal rights. Shouldn’t there be a #MeToo movement for such people as well?
So much has happened around us; still, I don’t see any concrete solution provided to make our lives easier and safer. Many women living in vulnerable conditions may or may not even raise their voice due to lack of proper resources. And even if she does, either she won’t be believed, or she would be silenced. Such voices should be strengthened.
A decade ago when the #MeToo movement started, it all began with a need to fight against sexual harassment and abuse.
But the ill treatments that we face today aren’t limited to only sexual abuse. It also takes the form of mental rebuke and violence that takes us through an unspoken trauma almost on a daily basis. Such harassments are body shaming, introversion, failed relationships, dissatisfying careers, corporate abuse, among many others. Shouldn’t such cases of harassment be taken parallelly, and also become another vertical of the #MeToo?
We need to shift our focuses on things that demand equal attention as the MeToo movement.
We, as individuals, must be educated about the pressing issues in the society. We need to develop a basic understanding of what can be good and what can’t. We must learn the meaning of consent, choice, freedom, independence, health, self- protection, etc. Women in the rural areas need to be made aware of their legal rights and that nothing can justify violence against them, not even the marriage. We must gradually come up with such an education system where we have more and more physiologists and psychiatrists who can help both the parties better.
I believe many more #MeToo movements shall start and a lot would change with time.