'I was gangraped, I still wear short dresses and bright red on my lips'

'I was gangraped, I still wear short dresses and bright red on my lips'
'I was gangraped, I still wear short dresses and bright red on my lips'
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Celebrity hairstylist Sapna Moti Bhavnani known for her outspoken ways has put out a moving post on Facebook recalling how she was gangraped when she was 24 years old. Forty-four-year Bhavnani had become popular on small screen after her appearance on Bigg Boss. Her Facebook post twenty years after the incident on Humans of Bombay page has received much attention and adulation on the internet.  "When I was 14, I used to talk to boys; drive motor cycles, smoke cigarettes and people in Bandra would often call me a whore because of those things. I never understood the term back then, but sure if doing all those things made me a whore-- I'd take it gladly. After my father’s death, I moved to Chicago where there were so many like me and it gave me the freedom to get inked, experiment with my hair and just be myself. One Christmas Eve in Chicago, I walked out of a bar alone late at night in a short dress and red lipstick. I was 24 and had been drinking, when from a dumpster a group of guys walked upto me and put a gun to my head asking me to give them blow jobs, eventually leading to gang rape. I remember walking home, showering and pushing this incident to the back of my mind for years and never letting it break my spirit – I still wear short dresses and the brightest red on my lips. In years to come, I got married to my high school sweetheart, faced domestic violence and walked out of the marriage wondering how this could happen to ME, a feminist? It’s because sometimes there are things that are beyond your control. We live in a world where everyone stresses the importance of voicing yourself or walking out of tough situations, but I just want to say this— no one wants to be beaten up, get raped or sell their bodies. It took me 20 years to voice my incident, but for me a woman keeping it all within her because she has no other choice isn’t a sign of weakness – it’s a mark of strength and something we need to start respecting.”Where the length of a girl’s skirt or what she wears is held responsible for rape incidents, gang-rape survivor Sapna Bhavani has won the maximum compliments from different quarters for sticking to her school of thought that a survivor doesn't need to feel guilty. “ I will still wear short dresses and lipstick” she says. Here are some of the reactions to her revelations:She's beautiful. In every way. Even more for coming out and calling out to a mindset that hold bodies to prison and shame young women for their personal and rightful choices. Stay the way you are Sapna.if a girl does boy-stuff she is a whore if a boy does girl-stuff he is gay/pussy!! society expects everything to be normal.. follow the herd blindly and lead your life simple .. they don't know how amazing it is to be extraordinary and different from the herd.. u did it u will continue .. u are living your life.. rest are just waiting to die!  This has got to be the realist most raw words ever spoken. You're truly an inspiration and I wish you all the best for your life. You're the epitome of how women's strength should be represented and I'm sorry that shit happened to you. You my friend are going places, places that you aren't going to let the bad things define you and places where you rock the crap out of red lipstick and empower women all over. Thank you Godspeed to you miss.  I saw this lady today just hours back... I was looking out of the rickshaw and her tattoos caught my attention... When she saw she smiled back at me... Never knew what she was hiding behind that smile... Respect to her for coming out and telling the world... 

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