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She was subjected to disparaging remarks about her upbringing, religion of her
husband, filmmaker Danish Aslam, and was even accused of prostitution
How will taking a photograph nullify the misogyny and patriarchy that is so
deeply entrenched in our society, the actor asked in her open letter.
On June 28, actress Shruti Seth responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
#Selfiewithdaughter campaign by calling him #selfieobssessed. Mother to
11-month-old Alina, Seth said the tweet stemmed from her exasperation with the
state of affairs in the country.But following her tweet, she was subjected to
disparaging remarks about her upbringing, the religion of her husband,
filmmaker Danish Aslam, and was even accused of prostitution.While Seth
subsequently deleted her tweets after the backlash, she wrote an open letter —
A Little Note to India — on July 3. “I write this to an entire nation because
no one individual can be held responsible for bringing about change in the
mindset of a billion odd people. Change can only happen if there is awareness
at an individual level,” reads the opening paragraph.RELATED#SelfiewithDaughter
Trolling: On Social Media, Women Dare Not 'Cross The Line'Shruti Seth Trolled
On Twitter For Comments On Narendra Modi's Selfie With DaughterWas Molested By
Sahitya Akademi Chief: TaslimaThe letter talks about the traumatic experience
she had to face after her tweets. “Men and women alike said the most vile
things about me, stripping me of all my dignity as someone’s daughter, wife and
mother and most importantly a woman. Men who were busy hash-tagging their
selfies with their daughters one minute called me slanderous names the next,”
the letter reads.Seth, who had questioned the campaign, meant to check female
infanticide, continued to do so in the letter. “What is the point of taking
selfies with your girls when you’re also responsible for creating the most
toxic environment for them to grow up in? How will taking a photograph nullify
the misogyny and patriarchy that is so deeply entrenched in our society?” said
the actor, who has featured in films such as Fanaa and Raajneeti.She ended her
letter with a note to the PM: “If you truly wish to empower women I urge you to
condemn this kind of hatred being spread in your name. Regretfully, I deleted
my initial tweet because of the backlash. But I stand by what I said and I’ll
reiterate it here: ‘Selfies don’t bring about change, reform does. So please
try and be bigger than a photograph. Come on!’.”Both Seth and her husband are
active users of the micro-blogging platform. She said Aslam is often subjected
to bigotry. “He’s asked to shut up because he’s Muslim and is told to go live
in Pakistan or Syria,” she said. According to Seth, there should be a certain
amount of self-censorship online. “If there are tweets threatening physical
harm, there has to be some form of disciplining,” said the Mumbai-born actress,
who graduated in economics from St Xavier’s College.While the last one week has
been disturbing for Seth, people also came out in droves to lend support.
Asking women not to take abuse lying down, she said, “If you truly want to
empower everyone, make India a land of equal opportunities, irrespective of
caste, race, gender and even sexual orientation. Make the laws stringent and
punish those who perpetuate crimes against women.”Responding to some people on
Twitter, who accused her of trying to resurrect her career by using the PM’s
name, she said, “Going by what people were saying, I should be receiving my
ticket to politics any time now. I will also hold the PM liable if I don’t get
plum acting offers now.”First Published on: July 5, 2015 1:50 am
