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Bharati College Student Harassed by a Professor

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Just two days after the arrest of a professor of Daulat Ram College, another student of Bharati College has come forward and written to the Vice-Chancellor about sexual harassment she and some other girls of her department faced.

The third-year student who is also a player in the college’s boxing team alleged that Dr. Amit Kumar of Political Science Department sent lewd messages to her, called at inappropriate timings, requested to meet outside the college’s premises, and sought sexual favours. The student also sent screenshots of the conversations to all college Whatsapp groups.

When the student confronted the teacher in the classroom, he accepted his mistakes and sought her forgiveness for it would have dire consequences for the man with a wife and child. The girl later found out that the professor was neither married nor had a child.

The girl then approached the authorities of the college who told her to dismiss the whole affair and keep quiet. They even threatened to suspend her and ruin her career. The girl has even sent a video clip to the VC in which the professor is seen apologising while the girl is slapping him surrounded by other girls.

It has also been revealed that the college’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) was not working according to the University Grants Commission  (UGC) guidelines. In the light of the incident, the college is now making a student committee.

The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) protested against the sexual harassment spoke with the authorities. The authorities have promised to solve the matter very soon, but a police complaint has not yet been filed.

Each student of the college stands in solidarity with the girl who had the courage to speak.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Prachi Mehra

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DU Professor Booked Under IPC For Allegedly Molesting a Student

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A professor at Daulat Ram College (DRC) has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly molesting and harassing a student of the same college. The alleged incident came to light when the woman approached the police on 31st January and lodged a complaint against the ad-hoc professor at Maurice Nagar police station.

The woman, in her complaint, avowed that the professor would stare at her and often wink during classes. She further stated that on 21st January, he met her near the college canteen and passed crude comments. “He told me I am looking hot and sexy. Then he touched me inappropriately and tried to come closer to me,” the woman cited in her complaint.

The complainant further said the accused offered to join her for a cup of tea or coffee and insisted on meeting her alone. His texts to her read, “Can we have tea/coffee tomorrow at 10?” and “Just chit chat over coffee.” When she refused, he threatened to fail her in the internal examination.

It is noteworthy that this is not the first time that complaints against the professor have surfaced. A few months back, a student from the Philosophy Department of DRC had complained to the authorities regarding inappropriate advances made by him. With respect to this, the Head of Department of Political Science said, “We were definitely concerned and held a departmental meeting because he is from our department. The girl, the professor, and members of the Students’ Union were also present at this meeting.” The matter was put to rest after he had apologised, and the Principal had served him a warning.

On being asked about this incident, a third-year student of the Political Science Department observed, “Ever since he joined college a few months back, he has been overly friendly with the students. He would make sordid remarks like “Aap Baal Kholke Aaya Karo” (keep your locks free). A strict action should have been taken against him, to stem his guts right at the beginning.”
On talking to a few students of the same college, the correspondent unearthed text messages from the same professor sent to different students, some of which read, “I need you more than anybody else” and “You are beautiful smart n.. Very HOT n SEXY (sic)”.

Diksha Verma, Vice President of the Political Science Department of DRC, commented, “Since this is not the first time we have received complaints about him, the Principal should take a bold step and suspend him. If no action is taken, then it can encourage other people to behave in the same way.”

However, in a phone conversation with the DU Beat correspondent, the Principal of the college seemed reluctant to provide answers and said, “The matter is so sensitive, the police also haven’t told me anything. I haven’t talked to the teacher also. Unless I know who is the girl involved and what is the Professor’s take on it, I just can’t keep talking to people.”

On being asked about the future course of action, Principal Savita Roy, remarked, “Generally, if a complaint like this is filed in the college, it is routed to the Internal Complaints Committee, but since the matter is already in the domain of the police, we’ll see what kind of action the police takes. I’ll assure you, it will be the strictest possible action. It’s a women’s college.” Meanwhile, the police have ensured, “We have questioned the teacher. We are verifying the allegations”.

It is well known that the fear of harassment in the National Capital can help explain a women’s college choices in Delhi. A college is supposed to be that sphere in a woman’s life where she can grow, live, laugh, and learn unrestricted. It becomes a matter of public concern if even that space becomes soiled with the fear of harassment and coercion.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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DUB Speak

Play Review: A Woman Alone

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Heartbreaking and touching, A Woman Alone by Shilpi Marwaha is a bold description of marital rape and female subjugation.

If you are a feminist who enjoys impactful theatre, then Sukhmanch Theatre Group’s production A Woman Alone is the performance for you. An adaptation of an Italian play by the same name, the act is written by political activists and theatre-makers Dario Fo and Franca Rame.

The play starts with a woman dancing freely and lasciviously to peppy Bollywood songs. Initially, it looks like the protagonist is a happy, confident woman, but soon things become dark. The plot has no sequence of events as such; the story is basically a narration of the oppressed domestic life of a woman. Stuck between a toddler, an abusive husband, a perverted brother-in-law, a stalker, and a blackmailing boyfriend, Sharon (played by Shilpi Marwaha) is in the simplest of terms an oppressed woman. She describes the various facets of her trauma in the form of gossip, storytelling, and comedy.

There are many scenes that vividly document the ugly reality of issues like marital rape and domestic abuse. While these scenes can be triggering and heart wrenching, there are a few reassuring moments where Sharon displays admirable grit and strength.

Watching A Woman Alone is a rollercoaster ride that is both emotionally draining and exhilarating because of the range of emotions it incites within the viewer. The audience is left more clueless, confused, and shocked than they were at the beginning. A Woman Alone is not a play that will provide you with answers; there will be no happy ending, there will be no closure. Sharon’s struggles of being groped, humiliated, harassed, hurt, of having her agency and free will ripped away from her, of blackmail and pain will make you question the kind of world that you live in where women continue to be viewed as properties, conquests, and pieces of flesh. Shilpi Marwaha at the climax of the play is trapped between ropes laden with household objects – bottles, shirts, brooms, clothhes hangers, jugs, and containers. It is a representation of how women today are trapped in what is assumed to be their responsibility towards their households and families.

It is the tale of a woman who was crushed and defeated by society’s hatred for women, hatred of their choices, their sexuality, their desire to grow, their desire to be recognised as people and not as someone’s partner, mother, and daughter.

Shilpi Marwaha has outdone herself in this piece of art that is nothing short of a masterpiece. Her voice, her persona, and her fearless personality all make the play an iconic tale of a woman crushed by the things and people she thought loved her.

Talking to DU Beat after her performance, Marwaha said, “It is a 90-page-long script and for one hour and 10 minutes I have to continuously speak, which is very taxing, not just physically but also mentally.” However, it is evident that this hard work pays off.
Follow Sukhmanch Theatre Group on Facebook for the details of more of their stunning upcoming performances.

 

Image Credits: DU Beat

Kinjal Pandey
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Niharika Dabral
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Arts & Culture

Harvey Weinstein Under Fire as Over 50 Actresses Accuse Him of Sexual Harassment

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The film industry is said to be the breeding ground of a number of unreported sexual assault cases. Here is a look at the scandal surrounding Hollywood’s famous director, Harvey Weinstein.

The film industry is one of the most expensive and glamorous spaces for the construction of art. Over time, though, it has associated itself with more commercialised ventures. The focus has shifted from the importance of a good script to the importance of good aesthetics. Actors and actresses are more concerned with how their characters appear physically, rather than how they are portrayed. The industry is rapidly shifting to catering to what sells, rather than what is stimulating.

In this industry, the job of a director is to hone talent of actors, give direction, guide, and take the best out of them to create creative content that benefits both the director and the actors’ careers. In the production of a movie, the post of a director is one that holds sway over the working of actors; the director holds the authority to mould and guides the actor so as to elicit the best representation of the character they are portraying. For this reason, an actor’s success is always credited to the director for their counsel. This dichotomy ensures that the directors are in a place of power, as compared to the actors. When new talent is discovered in the industry, their “shelf life” is determined by the person they are discovered by. Being launched by the “right” director has a huge impact on the actor’s future; if their talents are honed and directed towards roles that benefit their future in the industry, these actors are then more likely to receive more beneficial offers, and consequently, find the space to develop their own skill and careers in more challenging roles.

This reflects upon a huge responsibility that rests on the directors’ shoulders, which they should be aware of and uphold honourably. Harvey Weinstein is considered to be one of the most legendary directors in the Hollywood industry. His work has been critically acclaimed, and he has been an esteemed member of the Academy. He rose to fame when he started out on a business venture with his brother. In the duration of his career, he has also directed numerous Oscar-winning actresses.

Recently, a French actress named Emma de Caunes has come out and accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her, which opened a floodgate of accusations from over 50 women, including many mainstream Hollywood actresses like Cara DeLevigne, Lupita Nyongo, Angelina Jolie, Lena Headey, Gwyneth Paltrow, etc. The allegations included statements from the actresses, which claimed that he invited these actresses to engage in threesomes with him, insisted on having meetings in his personal hotel room, and even forced himself on some of them.

As a consequence, Weinstein has come under fire from the industry. His membership in the Academy has now been revoked. Many reports have been circulated in the media, stating that he will now be discredited for his recent releases and shows like Lifetime Project Runway, that he has actively been working on.

However, the need of the hour is not to retract Weinstein’s eminence in industry, but to expose precisely how his position of power allowed him to abuse his responsibility of encouraging new talent. Instead, he caused severe emotional and mental trauma, and reduced the potential of his power and resorted to seeking and demanding sexual favours from those who were starting out in their careers, from young actresses who he considered to be vulnerable.

 

Feature Image Credits: Entertainment Tonight

Bhavya Banerjee

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Named and Shamed: List of Sexually Predating Professors Goes Viral

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A list containing the names of 68 academicians from universities across the country is being circulated on social media, tainted with charges of sexual harassment.

Recently, Raya Sarkar, a lawyer, made a Facebook post on the 24th October that said, “One sexual harasser is Dipesh Chakravarty, the other is Kanak Sarkar Prof. teaching political science at Jadavpur University. If anyone knows of academics who have sexually harassed/were sexually predatory to them or have seen it firsthand, PM me and I’ll add them to the list.” The post went viral and the names of 68 academics were added to the list along with the institution they were a part of.

Raya Sarkar, “an attorney interested in prisoners’ rights, reproductive rights, and anti-caste jurisprudence”, as her Facebook profile reads, posted the invitation at 12.25 am on October 24, inviting several others to add to the list of sexual harassers. The list was instantly updated bearing the names of prominent professors, including several from renowned institutions like Jadavpur University, University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, St. Xavier’s College, Ambedkar University, and more. The list remains constantly updated.

Commenting on her own post, Raya Sarkar said, “Most if not all are first-person accounts of people who were molested/sexually harassed by the people who have been put on this list. Rest are a friend (sic) they (the victims) have chosen to specifically contact me as they fear their identity being disclosed. In fact, since there is a disturbing amount of rape apologia and victim blaming, the victims have gone out of their way to show me screenshots of them being harassed and abused by the people they have named.”

The post falls as an aftermath social media campaign called #MeToo that opened the platform for individuals to share their sexual harassment encounters over the years with the hashtag #metoo. This campaign started as a response to the Harvey Weinstein case in Hollywood, where around 40 women, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, etc., came forward with the chronicles of sexual harassment by the leading movie mogul.

While the initiative gathered a fair share of supporters, it was also slammed by a group of feminists in an open letter on Kafila.online titled, Statement by Feminists on Facebook Campaign to “Name and Shame”. These activists said, “We are dismayed by the initiative on Facebook in which men are being listed and named as sexual harassers with no context or explanation. One or two names of men who have been already found guilty of sexual harassment by due process are placed on par with unsubstantiated accusations. It worries us that anybody can be named anonymously, with a lack of answerability. Where there are genuine complaints, there are institutions and procedures, which we should utilise. We too know the process is harsh and often tilted against the complainant. We remain committed to strengthening these processes. At the same time, abiding by the principles of natural justice, we remain committed to due process, which is fair and just. This manner of naming can delegitimise the long struggle against sexual harassment, and make our task as feminists more difficult. We appeal to those who are behind this initiative to withdraw it, and if they wish to pursue complaints, to follow due process, and to be assured that they will be supported by the larger feminist community in their fight for justice.” This was signed by prominent activists like Ayesha Kidwai, Kavita Krishnan, Nivedita Menon, and Vrinda Grover.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Times

 

Trishala Dutta

[email protected]

 

 

 

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