Actress Mamta Mohandas's statements about so called victims of sexual assault and Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) have caused a furore on social media.
In a recent interview with a leading daily, she blatantly blamed the victims and said, "I don't know if I should be saying this, but if a woman gets into trouble, I feel somewhere she is responsible for it. Because if I have gotten into any sort of trouble where I have felt that someone has spoken to me with disrespect or in this situation, a sexual assault or a sexual abuse or anything indicative towards that manner, I feel I would have entertained some part of it."
Mamta quickly cleared the air saying that she is not pointing fingers at anyone specifically nor does she think that it should happen to anybody.
These statements came across as a shock to many feminists and fellow industry people as well.
Mamta also revealed that she doesn't think that there is a need for Women in Cinema Collective. She elaborated saying, "It was formed when I wasn't here. If you ask me would I have been a part of it if I was here, maybe not. It's not because I am against or for it. I just don't have an opinion."
Opening up about the actress assault case, she exclaimed, "During the press meet, they had asked me what I had to say about the actress assault incident. I said that in my knowledge, it was something that should have been discussed and resolved a few years ago. I know when the issue (between the actor and the assaulted actress) had erupted; it was not when the incident had happened. It was much before that. So, everybody who were part of what happened were very much aware of the mess they were getting into."
Actress Rima Kallingal, one of the founding members of WCC has slammed Mamta Mohandas for her comments on her Facebook page.
She wrote, "Dear Mamtha Mohandas and my sisters and brothers and LGBTQ community out there who have been through harassment and assaults and molestations and rapes in life, you are not responsible when you get troubled, cat-called, assaulted, molested, abused, harassed, violated, attacked, kidnapped or raped.The molester, assaulter, aggressor, violater, kidnapper or the rapist is responsible. A society that normalises these wrongs is responsible. A world that protects the wrong-doer is responsible. Aly Raisman (She called out her doctor who sexually molested 141 women athletes including her, putting an end to years of torture.) says, 'The ripple of our actions, or inactions, can be enormous, spanning generations.'Please don't feel guilty for another person's act. Continue to speak out and stand up for each other. Let's break that wall of silence and ignorance. Love and strength to all. (sic)"
Source, here.