Renuka Shahane discusses why the MeToo movement was important

• Renuka Shahane was one of the few female celebrities.
• She speaks out in favor of the victims.
• She remembered how many had advised her to be silent at the time.

Renuka Shahane was one of the few female celebrities to speak out in favor of the victims when the MeToo movement occurred in India in 2018. She remembered how many had advised her to be silent at the time. The actor also discussed how women are taught from a young age to suffer in silence and answered critics who questioned why some women were coming out 25 years later.

Renuka continued by stating that she was unsure if she missed out on any job during this period. Yet she is confident that some people in the industry might not want to work with her because she is regarded as a lady with thoughts. The actor claimed the this is acceptable to her.

Renuka told about the MeToo movement and people interrogating victims: “In fact, ‘mat bolo (don’t say anything)’ is something that women are told so often from childhood. I feel that catharsis is necessary. MeToo was very important because if not anything else, that collective feeling of catharsis that a lot of women went through for what they had gone through maybe 10 years, 25 years ago. People say ‘why after 25 years?’ Arey aap bolne kab dete ho? (When do you let women speak?).”

She added, “Maximum abuse happens within families and if a child– whether a boy or a girl — tells the parents, how many parents are willing to give up on their elders or family relationships on the basis of what the child has said? So I think it starts from there. You made to feel guilty about something that you have no business feeling guilty about. The perpetrator has to feel guilty.”

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