Why Men Like Mukesh Khanna Shame Women For Having Sexual Agency

Who is a ‘good woman'? According to veteran actor Mukesh Khanna, it is not the one who asks men to have consensual sex with her. While women have desires and should be able to express them freely, society expects them to ignore their needs for the sake of sanskars. Women who dare to not hide their sexuality like it's a shameful secret are called immoral and vulgar. Why? Because people think that 'good' women from civilised societies are not comfortable opening up about sexuality and desires.

Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna, known for his role as the titular character in Shaktimaan recently made a video where he claimed that women who approached men for sex were sex workers. In the viral video, Khanna is saying, “Koi bhi ladki agar kisi ladke ko kahe ki, ‘I want to have sex with you’, woh ladki nahi hai, who dhandha kar rahi hai (If a girl tells a boy that she wants to have sex with him, she is not a girl, she is a sex worker.)”

Mukesh Khanna On Women With Sexual Agency

Khanna added that girls belonging to civilised society would never approach men for sex. His statement that women who express their desire were sex workers and treating desires as “shameful” perfectly encapsulates how uncomfortable society is with women owning their sexuality and bodies.

Netizens instantly called out the actor for his sexist and problematic views. One user said, “Didn’t know that desire and consent of women makes them a sex worker”.

In the seven-minute ">video, Khanna was discussing spam accounts and fake accounts and asked men to beware of the risk of being blackmailed. He made several misogynistic comments and seemed to believe that the fake accounts were run by evil women hell-bent on ruining men’s lives. Did he have any data to back is claims? No.

Suggested Reading: Mukesh Khanna's Remark On #MeToo Tells Us Why Gender Equality Is Still A Distant Dream

Khanna went on to ask women to stay within their limits, respect tradition, and keep their desires under lock and key. After all, according to him, women should stay at home and keep the house neat and orderly. In a previous video, Khanna had blamed the #MeToo movement on the pursuit of gender equality. He said that it was a woman’s job to take care of the household.

When women freely express their desires and do not feel ashamed for having them, it destroys the norm of women should put the needs of their husbands and families first. However, women know better today than feeling guilty about desires- something that comes naturally to every human being.

Women Shouldn't Be Shamed For Having Desires

Instead of shaming women for their needs, the likes of Mukesh Khanna need to learn that every person have the right to seek live their life on their terms- irrespective of gender. Just because they disagree with a woman's choices or behaviour, does not mean that the woman is any less worthy of respect.

Women shouldn't be seen as villains for not conforming to societal norms and living however they please. If there is a threat to the fabric of society, then it doesn't come from sexually assertive women, but from entitled men who fail to understand the concept of consent and see sex as a privilege.

Sexist men often love to play the victim-card, claiming that there is a threat to our society, posed by liberal women, when in reality, they are only worried about losing their privileges and dominance. Any society can only survive when it evolves into a better version of itself constantly. But whenever such an evolution takes place, there is a shift in the dynamics and this bothers those who had benefitted from the existing ecosystem.

Perhaps the backlash to his video will motivate Khanna to introspect on his views about women and help him identify the sheer privilage and toxicity that his views are steeped in.

Views expressed are the author's own.