‘Teach our boys to respect girls’
Not just actors, every woman confronts difficult situations in life. If we make the punishments more rigid, people will not dare to do it again. Those who live in other parts of the world are also humans but they don’t do so because they know that if they attempt such a crime, the punishment will be severe. Here, people know that there will be some loopholes for them to escape. Give them death penalty; nobody would do it again. As part of our job, we travel to many places. But we have faced such unpleasant situations only in Kerala. We should begin the change from home. We should teach our boys to respect girls. Kids must grow up seeing their father treating their mother with respect.
Reshma Binu, Fashion designer
‘Reduce distance between genders’
The actor’s stance was good; it may have motivated females. But I think a major chunk of men should have sympathised with her situation. The correction should come from there. We should nurture a healthy attitude. For that, the change should come from the core. It is very difficult to reform a young man but easy to build a strong guy. So, we should begin it at the ground level. Also, we need to reduce the distance between genders. Everywhere, boys and girls are seated separately. This creates a distance. That should be reduced.
Joseph K. Jose, Writer
‘Great that she stood up and spoke’
Those who are interested in democracy would have been shocked to hear about the attack on the actor. It is great that she stood up and spoke about it because usually in such situations, they hesitate. But I think there is a rise in lifestyle feminism. Look at all these young Malayalam actors, they all are in some ways lifestyle feminists. Many of them have chosen to stay out of bad marriages or taken over the power to control their own finance. That is admirable. However, that does not protect you from patriarchal violence. Not just lifestyle feminism, we need political feminism too. And those who have power, like actors, should exercise it to bring a change.
J. Devika, Activist
‘Glad that everyone supported her’
This case got noticed because she is a celebrity. But, this can happen to anyone. We all are happy that everyone supported her. It inspired others to open up. It also made us think about precautions to be taken in order to avoid such crimes. But, what I have felt was that we should control fake news. If someone is guilty, then the authorities and the media should reveal the guilty person’s identity. Else, it would affect all in the industry. Also, police needs to be vigilant.
Aparna Nair, Actor
‘We need to travel fearlessly’
I feel art everywhere — in the people I meet, in communication and of course in travel. An artist travels a lot and we should be able to do that freely without fear. The recent happenings show how unsafe we are here. In every case, there would be an initial fire and then slowly, it would die. That should change. Also, we have special services like Pink Police and She Taxi designed for women. It may be to ensure safety for women. But, why are we not able to enjoy the general services without any fear? Such changes should happen.
Reshma Thomas, Artist
‘Raise our children bold’
Attack against women is increasing day by day. There should be proper measures to tackle such situations. What the actress did really inspired many women to open up about their problems. As a person who works with children, I can understand that change. It is fear that leads to some negative decisions. If you are bold enough to face the situation, nothing could conquer you. That is what we should teach our kids.
Roopa George, Entrepreneur
