More Celebrities Need To Take A Firm Stand Like Mahesh Bhupathi

In his Twitter post on #MeToo Mahesh Bhupathi has taken a strong stand against sexual predators. According to the popular tennis player, people need to “stop engaging” and “alienate these serial predators”. Further he says, “Show them that while the law and investigative agencies will take their course, society should – and will – reject them. The stand needs to be crystal clear - guilty unless proven innocent.”

#stopengaging . Everyone seems to be horrified about the #metoo stories but why is no one saying anything?#useyourvoice #timesup #CleanUp pic.twitter.com/FGOukZLyuF

— Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) October 19, 2018

Bhupathi is one of the few male celebrities who has come out to support this drive against sexual harassment. Even not all those have done so have gone ahead to end any social or professional association with serial predators. Despite multiple allegations, industries like print and Bollywood are busy doing damage control to their own rapport. As Bhupathi says, everyone seems to be waiting for #MeToo wind to blow over, so that business can go back to the usual. This naturally is not good news for survivors who have come forward. If all the courage that the women have shown in calling out sexual harassment can instigate the typical response of "wait and watch" then the battle is already lost.

Disengage with predators

There is a limit to which Bollywood can brag about how it has stopped works of directors Sajid Khan and Vikas Bahl after allegations against them came to light. We cannot ignore industry people’s standard response of “innocent until proven guilty” which they maintain to protect their bros. There are not one, but multiple accounts of misconduct around some of these men. But we do not see many celebrities asking them to prove their innocence.

SOME TAKEAWAYS

• Tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi has asked people to “stop engaging” and “alienate these serial predators”.
• Bhupathi is one of the few male celebrities who has gone ahead to end his social or professional association with serial predators.
• He is also warning us that people are waiting for the #MeToo wind to blow over, which should set the alarm bells ringing, despite the amount of conversation the movement is generating right now.

The question is whether or not we fully understand the extent of the problem at hand? Have we only managed to make a dent in tier two of the power ring with #MeToo?

Is our cry for justice enough to break decades-old friendships and associations? To say yes would show how little we understand the rules of male brotherhood in our country.

Bhupathi is literally warning us that people are waiting for the #MeToo wind to blow over, which should set the alarm bells ringing, despite the amount of conversation the movement is generating right now. Now with the allegation phase seemingly on a hiatus, it is a perfect time to discuss the course we expect our workspaces to take. This discussion needs to go beyond legal implications and Vishaka guidelines. We need to goad the society into a bigger commitment. That of disengaging with alleged serial predators until they can prove their innocence.

Stop stalling the required course of action by putting the onus of providing proof on victims. No one walks into a meeting equipped to collect proof if your colleague or superior touches you inappropriately. I agree that there have been a handful of misplaced allegations in this wave of Indian #MeToo Movement. But multiple allegations against one perpetrator should be enough to bring in social repercussions for him. The legal or professional actions will take their due course and time. But what we as a society can do in the meantime is to stop enabling serial predators and putting sexual well being of more women at risk.

Picture Credit: Firstpost

Also Read : Kanika Dhillon On Manmarziyaan, Writing, #MeToo And More

Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own.