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Being A Celeb Doesn't Ensure A Woman Safety: Swara Bhasker

Poorvi Gupta

27 Nov 2017 09:55 IST

New Update

There are few actors in Bollywood who have maintained their candid opinions in the public space and 'Anaarkali of Aarah' star Swara Bhasker is one of them.

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She doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind on issues ranging from 'Padmavati' to sexual harassment at workplace to women’s safety in the country. Recently, SheThePeople.TV caught up with the fiery actor, who did her Masters from the prestigious JNU, for her opinion on today's burning issues.

"Safety is an issue for women in general. When you are in a public space, it doesn’t matter whether you are famous or not. You feel vulnerable as a woman in India especially, but also in other parts of the world"

Having graduated to life as a celebrity from that of a normal girl, what's her take on safety issues?

Bhasker said, “Safety is an issue for women in general. When you are in a public space, it doesn’t matter whether you are famous or not. You feel vulnerable as a woman in India especially, but also in other parts of the world. This is a sad reality of power dynamics and gender dynamics of the world we live in.”

ALSO READ: Anaarkali of Araah: Inspiring Story Of A Small Town Singer

“But that said, you have to have a context where you can strive to have a society where people are conscious of the fact that women need to feel safer. And in case something happens, then protests must happen and women should be able to fight back,” she added.

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Sexual harassment in Bollywood is just like it happens in any workplace, believes Bhasker. She also spoke about empowering women so they are able to talk about cases of sexual harassment involving rich and powerful men. “It’s not like it is easier to take on powerful men in other industries -- whether it is corporate or journalism or government. Bollywood is part of our larger society so when that change begins to happen in our society, you’ll see it in Bollywood also.”

"I don’t think women’s rights are given in a platter to anyone. We will have to fight for it," feels Bhasker who says it is necessary for more people to stand up and support women’s empowerment.