Actress Varu Sarathkumar sounds a rallying cry for women across the country to fight misogyny.
As a woman, actress Varalakshmi Sarathkumar says that she has been pushed to a point where she has only one choice – to resist and speak out.
The South Indian actress, has publicly spoken out against the casting couch and the treatment of women in India through a powerful post published through her official Twitter account. In the note, she alleges that the programming head of a TV channel, once solicited her in the middle of a work meeting that left her horrified and aghast.
Varalakshmi, more popularly known as Varu, is the daughter of Sarathkumar, who himself is a veteran actor in the South Indian film industry.
The actress has spoken candidly about the permeating culture of sexism and misogyny that informs the culture of the industry.
Photo source: Facebook
She writes, “Instead of lecturing women on what to wear, how to speak, and how to behave appropriately, how about we start by telling men to stop thinking with their genitals, and start looking at a woman as strong, free, capable and equal human being,”
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But it’s not a culture that is exclusive to the film industry, she notes. She writes that women tend to be harassed across various industries from differing strata or backgrounds.
Needs to be said..!! pic.twitter.com/GjJimBIKd3
— varu sarathkumar (@varusarath) February 20, 2017
Varalakshmi’s statement comes only days after a popular actress from Kerala was abducted and molested in a moving car. Varalaksmi ends her post by rallying other women to start speaking up, saying, “I will not be silent. I urge all my sisters and friends to do the same. You are not alone. #BeSafe #BeBrave #BeaWoman.”
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