Where is the #MeToo moment in India's politics?
Source: Reuters
NEW DELHI(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - From media to sports and business, a wave of #MeToo revelations has rocked India this year, but the movement has left the country’s male-dominated politics largely untouched - and that needs to change, activists say.
Men rule the roost in the world’s largest democracy, where analysts and activists say harassment and exploitation of women are rife, including demands for sexual favors and character assassination.
While the campaign has hit a few politicians - with a state legislator from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party sacked in November - most remain unscathed.
Fear has kept female politicians from launching a public discussion about the issue, said Kavita Krishnan, an activist with the All India Progressive Women’s Association.
“It is still immensely costly for women to speak out,” she said. “It is dangerous because if they do, a whole pack will descend on them, gang up on them and bully them into silence.”
The biggest casualty of India’s #MeToo movement has been the resignation of a federal junior minister, M.J.Akbar, after several women accused him of sexual harassment before he became a politician.
Click here to read the full article published by Reuters on 12 December 2018.
NEW DELHI(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - From media to sports and business, a wave of #MeToo revelations has rocked India this year, but the movement has left the country’s male-dominated politics largely untouched - and that needs to change, activists say.
Men rule the roost in the world’s largest democracy, where analysts and activists say harassment and exploitation of women are rife, including demands for sexual favors and character assassination.
While the campaign has hit a few politicians - with a state legislator from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party sacked in November - most remain unscathed.
Fear has kept female politicians from launching a public discussion about the issue, said Kavita Krishnan, an activist with the All India Progressive Women’s Association.
“It is still immensely costly for women to speak out,” she said. “It is dangerous because if they do, a whole pack will descend on them, gang up on them and bully them into silence.”
The biggest casualty of India’s #MeToo movement has been the resignation of a federal junior minister, M.J.Akbar, after several women accused him of sexual harassment before he became a politician.
Click here to read the full article published by Reuters on 12 December 2018.