A fresh wave of the #MeToo campaign is sweeping across Twitter in India, with several women coming forward to call out men – many of whom hold or once held powerful positions in the world of arts, comedy and media houses – who sexually harassed them. Singer Chinmayi Sripaada too took to social media to detail the abuse she has had to face.
“It is very, very tough for women to remember accounts of when they were touched inappropriately; a ‘harmless’ hug that looks OK but makes them alone cringe,” she began. In her thread, the singer recounted the multiple instances of harassment, abuse and threats she’s been subjected to from her early childhood.
“I was 8, maybe 9. I was sleeping. My mom was supervising a recording session for her documentary. Felt a man in priestly robes feel up my privates and I woke up. Told her ‘that uncle is bad’. This was in the studio called Santhome Communications that still exists,” she tweeted about her early experience with sexual abuse.
Recollecting harassment she’s faced from ‘respectable’ elderly men in supposedly ‘safe’ places, she spoke about how an elderly man pinched her thighs throughout a concert during the December Music Festival in Chennai. She was 10 or 11 at the time, she recalls.
I was 8, maybe 9. I was sleeping. My mom was supervising a recording session for her documentary. Felt a man in priestly robes feel up my privates and I woke up. Told her ‘that uncle is bad’. This was in the studio called Santhome Communications that still exists.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 5, 2018
She moves on to speak about a horrific experience, when an older and very respected man called her to his office and when the was least suspecting it hugged and felt her up from behind. The incident was all the more confusing as the man had never shown such behaviour before, she tweets.
However, what’s more disturbing was the instinct to dismiss the behaviour of the said person and internalise the experience, never speaking about it again.
I was perhaps 19; again, veryyyyyy respected, wayy older man called me to his office on a pretext, my mom was with me, I was called in alone; we suspected nothing coz said man showed no such behaviour before,walked from behind his table, hugged me and felt me up.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 5, 2018
The singer also spoke about the first ever complaint she filed after online harassment from people and threats to disrupt her concerts and public events which lasted 3 years. For this too, she faced backlash from Twittter which ranged from slut shaming to acid attack threats, she recalls.
“Two popular women writers and activists said ‘A woman who sings Mayya Mayya cannot file case on harassment’. More men and other women cheered these women on. This was in support of men who said they ll throw acid on my face or that I need to be raped to be taught a lesson,” she wrote.
Two popular women writers and activists said ‘A woman who sings Mayya Mayya cannot file case on harassment’. More men and other women cheered these women on. This was in support of men who said they ll throw acid on my face or that I need to be raped to be taught a lesson.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 5, 2018
I asked again and again and again for support; 2, maybe 3 gentlemen spoke up; promptly hushed by the same men with questions like ‘Are you sleeping with her?’.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 5, 2018
No one wants to go file a case and fight it in our overburdened courts if only society would do the right thing.
She also accused Prashanth, who reviews movies on YouTube, of harassment.
“One of the successful ‘Youtube’ reviewers now - Prashanth offered to ‘support’ me and immediately launched into, ‘Dont worry sweetheart/darling I will Support you.’ Made me cringe; I deleted the DMs & said ‘Dont call me sweetheart’. He launched into a hate campaign right after,” she tweeted.
He called me an oppressor to whatnot; things that people believed then. I was the sole voice against 100s of men raging that I had called out a man who threatened to rape me. An actor’s PRO’s wife posted that they are filing a case of ‘Oppression’ against me.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 5, 2018
Soon after her tweets, more women began calling out Prashanth for his behaviour. One woman wrote how he responded calling her his 'longtime love' right after she asked him how his wife was.
I am having some messages shared and the names will be blocked out.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 6, 2018
I can imagine how traumatic it can be. If you want to share your story anonymously please slide into my DMs.
Girl asks him how his wife is; he responds saying ‘you re my long time love, dont mistake me’ pic.twitter.com/iVu3vMeI2i
More from another girl. pic.twitter.com/eB1ok0M0WJ
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 6, 2018
The movement gained steam once again on Thursday after a Twitter user called out comedian Utsav Chakraborty for sexual harassment. Soon after she tweeted, several other women wrote to her, accusing Utsav of sexual misconduct.
On Friday, several women from journalism circles too began naming and shaming alleged harassers, including Anurag Verma, former trends editor at Huffpost India, Business Standard journalist Mayank Jain, Gautam Adhikari former Editor-in-Chief of DNA Mumbai, novelist Kiran Nagarkar and cultural critic Sadanand Menon. The names and numbers go up with each hour every day.