In a series of supportive tweets, Aligarh writer Apurva Asrani has asked online digital entertainment channel The Viral Fever to explain why mandatory sexual harassment at the workplace guidelines were not followed by the company.
Asrani was commenting on the company’s response to women who have accused TVF CEO Arunabh Kumar of sexual harassment. Asrani said that instead of following the Vishakha Guidelines and the newly updated Sexual Harassment At the Workplace (Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, TVF had tried to intimidate and silence their employees, and pre-judged the accusations as “baseless”.
Apurva first shared a post written by an anonymous writer ‘Indian Fowler’, where the writer alleged that Arunabh Kumar had molested her:
Sharing this because I know another girl who went through the same ordeal recently. #TVF #ArunabhKumar https://t.co/iAw5WWLu3c
— Apurva Asrani (@Apurvasrani) March 13, 2017
He then suggested that if TVF had been following the procedure for dealing with sexual harassment at the workplace, they would not have issued a threatening notice against ‘Indian Fowler’ for speaking out. The guidelines require an employer to take sexual harassment claims seriously, and provide a safe working environment. The notice had, as Apurva tweeted, used intimidating language to say the company would leave “no stone unturned” to find the writer who had made “baseless” claims, and bring them to “severe justice”:
If the mandatory #Vishaka guidelines had been followed, #TVF would have announced an ‘investigation’ and not a ‘severe justice’ warning. pic.twitter.com/0SIEo1mMNN
— Apurva Asrani (@Apurvasrani) March 13, 2017
Apurva also reacted to Arunabh’s rather creepy statement that he is a heterosexual man, thereby implying that he is entitled to comment on women:
Make ‘sexy’ overtures in a neutral space; NOT AT THE WORKPLACE, where turning you down can cost her her job. Follow #Vishaka guidelines #TVF pic.twitter.com/mT3fw8xBo4
— Apurva Asrani (@Apurvasrani) March 14, 2017
He also said:
I wouldn’t single out TVF, I think most organisations are guilty of this thinking. This debate is an important one. https://t.co/gSPE0mfU7q
— Apurva Asrani (@Apurvasrani) March 14, 2017
Hansal Mehta, the director of Aligarh, also tweeted in support of ‘Indian Fowler’ and other women:
Harassment at the workplace must be denounced. Whether it is sexual, mental or the result of a person’s perceived power over the other.
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) March 13, 2017
Apurva also took issue with the headline Indian Express Entertainment used, while reporting on the story. The outlet had suggested, through their headline, that Apurva Asrani claimed that all the allegations were true. Apurva refuted this and clarified in a tweet:
Appalled that you put out this fake headline @ieEntertainment. I said nothing of the sort. Didn’t expect this level of journalism from you. pic.twitter.com/9J07jFayXT
— Apurva Asrani (@Apurvasrani) March 14, 2017
The Indian Express subsequently changed the headline.
Feature Image courtesy: Apurva’s Twitter Account
