Expressing solidarity with activist Bindhu Ammini who was recently attacked by the right wing with pepper/chilli spray, noted Malayalam writer KR Meera stated in a Facebook post that when it comes to being anti-women, there is no difference between the BJP, CPI(M) or Congress.
Bindhu Ammini was attacked by a member of ‘Hindu HelpLine’ while accompanying ‘Right to Pray’ activist Trupti Desai who'd come to Kerala to visit the Sabarimala Temple. Soon after she was attacked, Minister MM Mani of the CPI(M) led government of Kerala, had put up Facebook posts belittling and mocking Bindhu, claiming that she deserved the attack.
“What is to be noted here is the unity and camaraderie of the attackers. There is no difference between the BJP, CPI(M) or Congress in being anti-women,” KR Meera wrote on her Facebook wall on Wednesday.
“To deviate from the idea of equal justice, they will continue spraying chilli powder. They will also keep raising arguments that Bindhu Ammini deserved chilli spray, it gives a cooling effect and that everything is a drama.” Alleging that the attack on Bindhu was part of a "drama", Minister MM Mani had written on Facebook, ‘‘What a good script! What a good chilli spray which gives cooling to one's eyes and mind.”
In the post which has been widely shared, KR Meera then goes on to underline the need for a sense of unity among survivors who've been attacked by men. Importantly, she also stresses on how abusive men often bond and collaborate.
“The camaraderie that the attackers possess is not there among survivors or victims. Until that develops, the abusers will try to raise up religious, moral and political reasons for attacking women,” she added.
“If Bindhu Ammini wanted to get a few votes or enter into people's good books, she could have gone to the streets chanting ‘namajapam’ (religious slogans). She took on the chilli powder for ‘Navakeralam’. I am with Bindhu,” KR Meera wrote.
It's not difficult to find examples for the point which KR Meera raised in her Facebook post, about the camaraderie between men who abuse women. For instance, the south Indian film industries were jolted by the #MeToo movement a year back. However, just a few weeks ago, the Malayalam movie Jack Daniel directed by SL Puram Jayasurya was released. And the two male leads in the movie are none other than actors Dileep and Arjun Sarja, both men who have been accused of sexual violence and have cases pending in court against them.
While Dileep stands accused as the mastermind in the case where a prominent woman actor from the Malayalam industry was abducted and sexually assaulted, actor Sruthi Hariharan accused Kannada and Tamil actor Arjun Sarja of sexually harassing her on the sets of a film. It is to be noted that Arjun Sarja was cast in Jack Daniel after the allegation was made, and Dileep, too, has signed new projects after he was chargesheeted by the court in the case.
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