Swara Bhasker, the Hindi actor who recently filed a police complaint over cyber harassment, posted a message on Twitter on Tuesday stating that she is not alone in suffering “casual and everyday cyber sexual harassment.”
Bhasker, who is a vocal critic of the ruling government and voices her opinions on several socio-political issues through social media platforms, spoke in an exclusive interview with NDTV on Saturday about the online harassment and hate that she and most other women across the world face on a daily basis.
Sharing the interview on Twitter on Tuesday, she captioned it: “I am not alone. Suffering casual and everyday cyber sexual harassment is the price many women have to pay to have a voice in our public spaces… again, it’s not okay!”
“Why should a woman have to be okay with being harassed every day? Women across the world face the same,” she said in the interview. Bhasker also added that while she gets very many hate comments, there are also those who express their solidarity and support on social media.
According to a News18 report, Bhasker has filed a police complaint with the Vasant Kunj North police station in Delhi, alleging that a person, who is a Twitter user and YouTube influencer, has been circulating certain messages on social media platforms with the intention to outrage her modesty. Her complaint also states that some hashtags have been circulated regarding certain movie scenes as well. A criminal case has been registered based on Bhasker’s complaint under sections 354D, 509 IPC and 67 IT Act.
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On Tuesday, Bhasker also posted an Instagram story, in which she said, “This message is addressed to those who want women to be ‘tolerant’ to sexual harassment, eve-teasing, and cyber sexual harassment and so they can have the freedom to do these. I just want to say that I am really sorry that our constitution does not give this to you as a right under your fundamental rights because you anyway don’t have the basic humanity, so let that be. I am sorry that this country has some laws.”
She also shared screenshots of tweets from a verified Twitter user named Elvish Yadav, whose bio simply reads ‘Hindu’. Yadav had commented on how the people calling India ‘intolerant’ have become intolerant themselves. Another tweet said in Hindi, “Can anyone tell me how I can get a victim card?”
The stories Bhasker put up on her Instagram page were addressed to these people, she said.
Meanwhile, actor, director and writer Faraz Arif Ansari posted an Instagram story on Tuesday, with a picture of Bhasker, stating that the actor recorded her statement at the Patiala House Court in Delhi on Monday “in the case she filed against Elvish Yadav for targeting and maligning her image on social media.”
“Thank you for standing up for yourself and for billions of women who get trolled and sexually harassed on social media by spineless men. More power to you. May your tribe increase,” Ansari further wrote.