‘Need to stand up against cyber abuse’: Manju Warrier joins WCC’s campaign

Actors Srinda, Nimisha Sajayan, Saniya Iyappan, Anna Ben and TV show host Ranjini Haridas too have posted videos supporting the campaign.
Manju Warrier
Manju Warrier
Written by:

Actor Manju Warrier is the latest celebrity in Malayalam cinema to join Women in Cinema Collective (WCC)'s ‘Refuse the Abuse’ campaign against cyber bullying and harassment. On Monday the renowned actor took to social media to post a video in support of the campaign. 

Speaking out against misuse of freedom of speech, the actor noted, “India is the world’s biggest democracy. The most special thing here is freedom of speech. But to what extent can this freedom of speech be used - this question arises. A small portion of people at least misuse this freedom. They see this as their right to abuse or hurl personal insults against anyone whom they despise. Such attacks are most often directed at women and this is a fact that nobody can deny.” 

Manju also added that most times people don’t react to the cyber abuse and this in turn encourages trolls to repeat the abuse. “We have to stop this. All of us, without any gender differences, must stand together against this. The silence we maintain on this issue is also wrong. Refuse the abuse,” she said. 

Watch: Manju Warrier on cyber bullying

Earlier, actors Nimisha Sajayan, Saniya Iyappan, Srinda and Anna Ben too lent their support to the campaign which was kickstarted by the WCC last week. All of the actors put out less-than-one-minute long videos in which they spoke about cyber abuse and cyberbullying. Anna Ben also recounted her experience of being abused on social media by users and how most times, these are fake accounts or profiles which get deleted almost immediately.

Television host and model Ranjini Haridas too joined the campaign and posted a video of herself speaking out against cyber abuse. 

“I always feel like the cyber bullying and abuse cases are increasing because we don’t give a fitting response to the perpetrators. If somebody comes to us and insults us, should we remain silent? Or should we withdraw? No. Silence is not the answer. React. Refuse the abuse,” Ranjini says in her video. 

While launching the campaign, the collective which aims to promote women in the film field, especially in Malayalam cinema, and offer a safe space for women stakeholders of the industry, called upon several women actors in Mollywood to speak out against online abuse and cyberbullying. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com