Anna Linda Eden, wife of Ernakulam Member of Parliament Hibi Eden, has expressed regret for a Facebook post she made on Monday night, concerning the flood situation in Ernakulam. The original post, which she removed later, said, “Fate is like rape if you can’t resist it then try to enjoy it,” followed by an emoticon, and a couple of videos showing Hibi having an ice cream, and their daughter being rescued from their water-logged house.
The post had invited a lot of criticism, with many pointing out the insensitivity of it. A Facebook user Hasna Shahitha writes, "Rape and flood are not fate. One is because of male dominance and the other has a role played by irresponsible governing. To compare both and celebrate, one should have a lot of privilege. That is why this 'man joke' comes from you even as you are a woman."
Another user, Hitha Venugopalan, asks, "Such a disgusting caption. When will we learn these are not jokes. When will we understand rape should never be trivialised or normalised like this?"
Anna, in a new post on Facebook, said that her dad had been unwell and the house got flooded, and she was trying to be positive on the face of tragedy. “My father is being treated at the ICU of Amritha Hospital and is in a very serious condition. It is during this time that our house got flooded like never before and there have been many losses. It was very difficult to get out of the house with mother and daughter and a few things in hand. Hibi was busy with the elections (the by-elections on Monday),” Anna writes.
She says she has always tried to face such difficult situations in life with a smile. “It is a remark that I heard Amitabh Bachchan make at the time his company ABCL faced financial issues. It had influenced me a lot, and it is in this memory that I wrote such a post in this situation. I never meant to insult the tragedy faced by many women.”
She ends the post by saying she is sad that her post has been misunderstood and expresses regret for the same.