#MeToo: 20 women to testify against Akbar

New Delhi: As the #MeToo movement gains ground, 19 women journalists who have worked with 'The Asian Age' newspaper, came out in support of their colleague Priya Ramani who has accused Union minister M J Akbar of sexual harassment, said a joint statement issued by them.

The journalists have urged the court to hear their testimonies against Akbar, claiming that some of them suffered sexual harassment by the minister and others have been a witness to it.

"Ramani is not alone in her fight. We would request the honourable court hearing the defamation case to also consider the testimonies of sexual harassment of some of us at the hands of the petitioner, as also of the other signatories who bore witness to this harassment," the journalists said in the joint statement undersigned by them.

Meenal Baghel who worked for Asian Age (1993 to 1996), Manisha Pande (1993-1998), Tushita Patel (1993-2000), Kanika Gahlaut (1995-1998), Suparna Sharma (1993-1996), Ramola Talwar Badam (1994-1995), Hoihnu Hauzel (1999-2000), Aisha Khan (1995-1998) and Kushalrani Gulab (1993-1997) have signed the statement.

Kaniza Gazari (Asian Age 1995-1997), Malavika Banerjee (1995-1998), A T Jayanthi (1995-1996), Hamida Parkar (1996-1999), Jonali Buragohain, Meenakshi Kumar (1996-2000), Sujata Dutta Sachdeva (1999-2000), Reshmi Chakraborty (1996-98), Kiran Manral (1993-96) and Sanjari Chatterjee are the other journalists to sign the statement.

One journalist from Deccan Chronicle, Christina Francis (2005-2011), also signed the statement.

"What Akbar has demonstrated through his legal actions is his refusal to introspect, acknowledge or atone for his actions that have caused immense pain and indeed harm to many women over the years.

"He himself, in the meanwhile, continues to enjoy enormous power and privilege as minister and Member of Parliament," the statement said.

"When Ramani spoke out against him in public, she spoke not only about her personal experience, but also lifted the lid on the culture of 'casual misogyny, entitlement and sexual predation' that Akbar engendered and presided over at The Asian Age," it said.

Many journalists from multiple media platforms have come forward with their stories of harassment against the Minister of State for External Affairs under the social media campaign '#Metoo' against sexual misconduct.

Akbar, however, has denied the allegations and on Monday filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani.

Hours after returning from a trip to Africa, the Union minister issued a statement trashing the charges against him, saying accusations without evidence has become a "viral fever" among some sections.

Ramani Monday asserted that she was ready to fight the defamation complaint filed against her, and expressed disappointment over the minister's statement, saying it paid no heed to the "trauma and fear of the survivors".

"I am ready to fight the allegations of defamation laid against me as truth and the absolute truth is my only defence," she had said.

As anger grew in many quarters over Akbar's continuance in office, Congress president Rahul Gandhi accepted the resignation of NSUI national president Fairoz Khan, who stepped down from his post following charges of sexual harassment.

Khan denied the allegation and said he quit keeping in mind the party's interests. The Congress had set up a committee after a party worker from Chhattisgarh levelled charges of sexual harassment against the chief of its students' wing in June.

The movement against sexual exploitation gathered more force with artist Jatin Das joining the list of celebrities being named on social media.

The Padma Bhushan award winner has denied the allegations by entrepreneur Nisha Bora, who claimed he groped and forcefully kissed her in 2004.

"I am shocked... I don't know her, I have never met her, and even if I did meet somebody somewhere one doesn't behave like this... it is vulgar," Das told PTI.

In corporate Bollywood, the response was swifter.

Yash Raj Films fired Y-Films' creative and business head Ashish Patil in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations against him and KWAN Entertainment founder Anirban Das Blah was asked to step down from the talent management company he had founded.

In a brief statement posted on its official Twitter handle, Yash Raj Films, which referred the complaint to its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), said it has terminated Patil's services with immediate effect.

The move against Blah came on a day Mid-Day newspaper published a report quoting four women, who asked that their identities be kept a secret, saying he had harassed them.

"In view of the article dated 16th October 2018 published in The Midday, we have asked Anirban Blah to forthwith step aside from his duties, activities and responsibilities at KWAN, its subsidiaries and affiliates with immediate effect," a statement from Kwan, which handles several Bollywood stars, said.

At a time when many in the media have called out the big names for their silence on the movement, which has felled many a stalwart, veteran screenwriter Salim Khan extended his support to #Metoo in a cryptic tweet.

"The only defence they have is 'Why so late?' It is better late than never. You don't have to wait for the result, you have already won great public support. Aadmi pahad se gir kar khadda ho sakta haiapni nazron se girkar nahin. (A person can stand up after falling from a mountain but not after falling in his own eyes)," Khan tweeted.

Writer-lyricist Varun Grover demanded closure in a case, where he was accused of sexually harassing a junior while in college, a claim that he has repeatedly and categorically denied.

Grover reiterated that he was willing to face any inquiry but wanted to clear his name to move on in his personal and professional life.

"Revolutions are beautiful. They are cathartic, powerful, necessary, and like #metoo - inevitable. And revolutions, inevitably, have some collateral damage too," Grover said in a post on Medium.