(Disclaimer: This is a personal blog and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
MJ Akbar has resigned after bequeathing us a case study that clearly indicates how reactions spur actions, how silence is truly golden and more so, how being contrite still works no matter how old fashioned it may be.
My mind frantically whirls to the developments of the past few days: Priya, Ghazala and others speaking up one after the other followed by MJ’s continuing silence while abroad; my hope that he was writing a neat clear apology for the sins of his misplaced loins fizzling in a shroud of a continuing puzzling silence.
I mean how could he not know how to apologise? Did the brilliant mind that he used to then have not realise that the accusations were coming in from far too many, too quickly, and in a manner that only meant that these girls then, women now, were angry, really angry at how he breached all etiquette and values with us when we were young and trusting?
The Blunder MJ has Heaped Upon Himself
Having lost my father barely a fortnight back, the saga landed firmly in my lap when MJ seemingly unleashed 97 lawyers on Priya. The cheek of the Bathrobe! To call us liars when all he should have done was to keep mum and then apologise. And then fight it out in court provided we filed charges. To abrogate virtue from those wronged incessantly was the blunder that MJ heaped upon himself.
Today a few pertinent points are emerging out of this case study. Firstly, that MJ must also resign from the Rajya Sabha since this saga negates his nomination to the Upper House as a respected citizen worthy of that nomination. Thereafter, he is free to fight us and look into 37 pairs of determined eyes and deny that he ever paraded his bounties in bathrobes to us, or forced his slobbering stale saliva onto scared members of his staff.
Secondly, and very importantly, I am seeing a lot of nice, good men around me very worried about how these movements shall make the going difficult for everyone: that women shall not be employed any more, that men will be falsely accused etcetera etcetera. To that I say, relax.
Yes, there shall be aberrations as is the way on Earth, but the fear of an aberration cannot take away from the need for justice, can it?
As for employment opportunities for young girls, well my dear friends, we were not employed all these years because we were safe of otherwise; our careers have been built on merit and sincerity and that’s a quality the world shall always need us for.
Thirdly, this recurrent question being thrown at us about the law of limitation and the time taken by us to speak up is certainly a matter of concern. The moot point here is that beyond the boundaries of a man made law, there is a time and a place for everything.
How the Times have Changed and for Better
Had the same me spoken up either to my colleagues at the St Xavier’s College (Cal) Alumni/ae Association or to my parents , I would have had to answer questions about why I went to the airport, to Taj Bengal, to his room blah blah blah.
Such were the times. Isn’t it natural as part of our survival instinct to wait to open up when we are stable and settled and when the time is more conducive for us to fight for justice?
Fourthly, I am certain that norms and laws shall emerge out of this saga of a few puny women staring back unflinchingly at the might of a once admired giant. Yes we will welcome them. Yes we also know that every travesty of justice whether towards a man or a woman is a blot on society as a whole but the way forward is to move forward with hope and courage and faith, and certainly not with pessimism and fear and mistrust.
Women’s Strength Isn’t Up for Grabs
Lastly, I very strongly feel that we women as a whole have been more marginalised in a patriarchal society forever than any other group whatsoever, to the extent that we have internalised the unfairness and cloaked it with our never ending tolerance and propensity to maintain peace.
Our strengths must not be taken for granted any more. If the SC/ST Commission can have teeth then why not the Women’s Commission too? Let our constitutional rights be ours instead of us needing to fight our way through overworked and dingy police stations which are ill-equipped to deal with not just the volume of such instances but also the sensitivity we need at times such as these.
And yes, let us also be the mothers who take pride in bringing up boys worthy of this earth.
(Swati Gautam is Founder-CEO of NecessitySwatiGautam, India’s first customised brand of bras. She can be reached at necessityswatigautam@gmail.com. )
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