Rape survivor pens open letter to 'disgrace' Salman

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ANI New Delhi
Last Updated : Jun 22 2016 | 2:42 PM IST

Amidst the uproar over Salman Khan's 'raped woman' analogy, gang-rape survivor Sunitha Krishnan, a Padma Shri awardee social activist, has penned a scathing open letter to the actor.

In her letter, Sunitha put together her thoughts and concerns about, saying "I do not wish to take the name of the person in question because I feel it would be an act of giving him too much respect. The fact that he could easily compare himself to being raped shows how badly he has trivialised rape and rape culture. The harsh truth is that good looks and some talent made him the star that he is and he takes this role very lightly. With such fame, comes responsibility.

She added, "Instead of being aware of this, he has basically compared the scars, trauma and abuse of a rape victim to his role in a movie. I keep hearing men and women making such remarks and recently too, I found a woman who made a joke along these lines. She used to say 'I was raped by this' or 'I was raped by that' with no thought on the repercussions of these statements."

"What we need to remember is rape culture is around us and all of these trivialising remarks add to it. As far as I can say, only perverts can make such statements. He is a disgrace," continued Sunitha.

After the 50-year-old actor landed in a soup, where women activists are seeking an apology from the 'Dabangg' actor, father Salim Khan came up with an apology on behalf of his star son and said that his statement was wrong but not intentional.

Brother Arbaaz Khan too faced the media to clear the air, saying that though Salman's intention behind his comments was not wrong, he can issue a clarification if he wants.

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First Published: Jun 22 2016 | 2:42 PM IST

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