Pooja Bedi, Dia Mirza, Patralekhaa, Tisca Chopra

Subhash K Jha (DNA; January 6, 2017)

New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for the women who were molested despite huge police presence in Bengaluru. The incident created a wide uproar across the country and several celebrities took to twitter to voice their protest. Here B-Town women react to the shameful incident.

Pooja Bedi
It ends when the masses get the message that they can’t get away with it! As of now lax policing and arduously long court processes give the impression that you can get away with such stuff. Also, misogynistic people in positions of power need to be given public warnings so as to ensure public knows a derogatory mindset towards women is unacceptable.

Dia Mirza
It won’t end until mothers bring up sons differently, until fathers teach their sons better. Until every law is enforced and the misogynistic mentality is not condemned emphatically. It will not end until, as a society, we make every man realise that a woman is not an object of his desire and that she is a living, feeling, thinking being. It will not end until men are taught to treat women the way they would want to be treated. With respect. But most importantly our sons will follow and learn when gender equality is demonstrated at home.

Patralekhaa
There will be no end to it if we don’t start teaching our sons that women and men are equals and should be respected and not be treated as objects! It has to begin now, and in our homes. Don’t feed your male and female child a different diet.

Tisca Chopra
It should end in a few public floggings at the very least. CCTV footage should be used to identify some of the men. Another New Year’s Eve should be organised with total police protection at MG Road again.. to show that neither women nor the state are going to take this lying down. Women should be allowed licensed mace or pepper sprays or tasers.

Kalki Koechlin
We really need to have education programmes for boys and men to sensitise them to gender issues. Women are taught from an early age how to behave, but men are not.

Gauahar Khan
We need stricter laws, far more stringent punishment. Enough is enough.

Sayani Gupta
Whatever I read, it’s infuriating. But as we continue to live in this pathetic state as a whole, I wonder what can truly bring about a change in the psyche of people including the perpetrators and the politicians. Our country is infested with creeps and vicious patriarchy and regression. It pains us, agitates us, shocks us every time, but the real question is how do we ever put an end to this apathy? I honestly don’t know and feel terribly hopeless. But I want to be proven wrong.

Tannishtha Chatterjee
New India. Old story. Nothing seems to change.

Taapsee Pannu
It’s time girls take charge to deal with this. No amount of policing and teaching can help this anymore. They need to take charge of their own safety. By this I definitely don’t mean sit scared in your houses because you aren’t even safe there.


Kalki Koechlin, Gauahar Khan, Sayani Gupta, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Taapsee Pannu