The Hindustan Times has initiated a social campaign called ‘Let’s Talk About Rape’ (#LetsTalkAboutRape) where eight celebrities write open letters to their dear ones talking about their experience with or thoughts on sexual assault. Actor-director Farhan Akhtar wrote an open letter to his daughter under this campaign. Akhtar, in his letter, asks girls to speak up about abuse and question injustice. Here’s an excerpt from it:
Dear Daughter,
How do I even start writing to you about sexual violence and rape? My instinct, any father’s instinct, is to protect and nurture, but it is an issue that we must confront and discuss. Let me start, dear child, by quoting from a poem I wrote after the brutal murder of a sprightly lawyer in my team in 2013. You were too young then, only 12, and all I wanted was to see you smile and feel brave and invincible, like you did. The attempted rape and murder was too dark a subject for me to bring up then.
Now, you’re 16 and I can read the questions in your mind. Yes, the same questions that I find myself asking:
What is this country that I live in?
That takes away her right to love
Brutalises her with an iron glove
Rapes her without fear
of there being justice for her tear…
…what do I tell my daughter?
That she’s growing up to be lamb for the slaughter
we’ve got to make a change
Reboot, reformat, rearrange,
and never give in
no matter how much our head may spin
Just keep asking the question
What is this country that I live in?
“…what do I tell my daughter? That she’s growing up to be the lamb for slaughter we’ve got to make a change..Reboot, reformat, rearrange and never give in.”
The actor dedicated the post to every girl child in the country. Farhan took to his official Twitter account and wrote, “To mine, to yours, to all daughters out there.. @htTweets @shammybaweja @MardOfficial @unwomenindia @glblctznIN #LetsTalkAboutRape”
To mine, to yours, to all daughters out there.. @htTweets @shammybaweja @MardOfficial @unwomenindia @glblctznIN #LetsTalkAboutRape https://t.co/Pn6EoQXpeG
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) 3 October 2016
Recently, Amitabh Bachchan had written a moving open letter to his granddaughters, where he spoke about the lopsidedness of gender norms in our society and encouraged them to not be burdened by people’s judgements. Coming soon after the release of his film Pink, that deals with sexual consent, this letter that was meant for ‘all granddaughters’ made waves on the internet making people sit up and think about the question of gender and justice. Perhaps this inspired the #LetsTalkAboutRape campaign.
Boxer Mary Kom is another celebrity who wrote an open letter to her sons as part of the campaign.
Featured Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times
