Sona Mohapatra talks about slut shaming of Bollywood women post Raj Kundra’s arrest

Singer Sona Mohapatra reacted to the slut-shaming that Bollywood actresses are currently facing post Raj Kundra’s arrest. She said, ‘Slandering us baselessly simply won’t be tolerated.’

Raj Kundra’s arrest in the pornography case gave rise to the slut-shaming of women in the Bollywood industry. Sona Mohapatra reacted to this trolling through her tweet.

The singer shared a video on her Twitter handle and wrote, “The #RajKundra blow-up cannot be an excuse to throw lewd comments into our timelines & say things like you are from #Bollywood & all of you are the same or other shit. No one has a right to shame, touch, or do anything without our consent. Sounds simple enough? #India #LetsTalk.”

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In conversation with Etimes, Sona opened up about slut-shaming and said, “This is something I’ve experienced all my life and now seeing it amplified in the entertainment industry is especially frustrating. As women in India, we have mostly grown up in an environment where shaming and blaming the girl is the default response, even when she has been groped, manhandled, or even verbally harassed. ‘You must have done something wrong,’ is such a common phrase we’ve heard over and over again while growing up. The fact is: Women’s safety in India is a serious problem and it’s not a high priority for any government.”
Talking about assumptions of people about Bollywood women, she added, “They assume that every woman in the industry is a debauched harlot who cannot wait to sleep around to get her share of fame. Let me assure everyone that this is the exception to the norm. While there always will be shady operators in every industry, some more high profile than others, most of us in the entertainment industry are hard-working, ethical professionals who’ve invested our lives in honing our craft. Slandering us baselessly simply won’t be tolerated. As women, we will express ourselves and push back against the conservatism of every kind. We’ll wear what we want, how we want. If you don’t like what you see, feel free to look elsewhere.”
Further, she said, “The message is for women to own their own bodies and have the freedom to choose how they dress and express themselves. A subversive way to say that our clothes don’t determine our moral character and that no one has any business slut-shaming us.”