MUMBAI: According to the Bollywood actress Tisca Chopra, women are as much to blame as men as far as sexual abuse is concerned, reports The Print.
She said, “I’m not even sure that I’m going to say the thing that you want me to say. I’m going to be very categorical when I say that women are just as much to blame because they put themselves in those vulnerable positions. Why do these women go to hotel rooms? Do they not fear for their personal safety? Have they not heard of people’s reputations, and why do they engage with those men?”
“Why do they not say “N-O: no” point blank? And why be alone with a person like that? Every human being is hardwired to protect themselves. Self-preservation is the biggest instinct human beings have, why do they lose that? They think that somehow they will be the one that will duck the pattern and will escape. Knowing someone’s reputation, why would you put yourself in that position with them?” She continued.
“Being a woman, I would say that first of all, protect yourself. Don’t put yourself in that position. The more women start saying flat-out “no”s, the more these men will understand that this is not the way, this is not going to work. But a woman goes and says yes, and so it gives them the authority to say “If this one won’t do it, then that one will do it,” or “I’ll take that one, I’ll take this one”. So, you know, those choices need to stop becoming available to these men. It just has to be absolutely not possible,” the Taare Zameen Par actress further remarked.
“What is happening in Hollywood is largely 30 years of somebody becoming a blatant predator. People, by and large, say “chance maaro, how can it hurt to ask”. Unless somebody says “no”, and the kind of “no” you say, and the manner in which you say it should convey that it is completely unacceptable to even ask this question.
Don’t let your career hang in the balance. Work hard on your acting, take a little longer to build your career, don’t take any shortcuts,” the actress concluded.
