The Bangalore mass molestation incident has enraged the common man — and more so, the telly stars. Following the incident, actors from the television fraternity have come forward to urge their male fans to treat women with respect. Excerpts:
Arjun Bijlani “Incidents like these prove that the mentality of some men is only worsening with time. Taking advantage of the fact that women are out in the streets on New Year’s Eve and molesting them is the cruellest thing anybody can do. The police should catch hold of them and the media should show their faces on their channels, so people like these are exposed and publicly shamed. Severe punishments for crimes like these should also be bought into effect. I request all my male fans to respect women and be extra cautious when accompanying women out through the night, which is when incidents like these take place.”
Ravi Dubey “It is disgusting and deplorable. There are moments like these, when one feels like going out on the street to confront people who do this and take matters into your own hands. Even millions of these social messages won’t do the trick — the only solution is that the perpetrators need to be shamed publicly. They fearlessly do things like these, and only very strict action can instil fear in their minds. And the strict action against them should be out in the open for everyone to see — put it out there, make it viral, let the likes of these b*****ds experience intense fear before they even think of doing something like this again. Or better yet, give them ten minutes with the furious public, no questions asked. In the light of this incident, I urge my male fans to be more protective towards women in general.”
Nikitin Dheer “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that something like this is happening in one of the oldest civil societies, which is why I can’t tell if we are progressing or regressing with time. All the culprits should be punished severely to ensure that this doesn’t happen again in the future. India’s women are educated, but it is the men of our country who need to be taught how to treat women. It’s not about the clothes women wear but the mentality men have that needs changing.”
Mrunal Jain“ I think people who misbehave with girls just assume that they can get away with it. When something as scary as this happens, the perpetrators should be strictly punished. There is also a dire need of stricter laws — the situation might change once stringent laws are passed, there will be fear among the people and it won’t happen. I would like to tell all my male fans that instead of blaming the girls for wearing short clothes, the men should learn to respect girls. Women shouldn’t be treated differently and there shouldn’t be separate rules or regulations for them. Men and women both are equal; there is no difference in today’s times.”
