Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday tweeted a screenshot of Facebook executive Ankhi Das’ post on the #MeToo movement in India and said he liked it.
“You needn’t have a #MeToo moment to support the woman journalists who have narrated their victimisation,” Das wrote on Thursday. “You needn’t even be a woman. You just need to have a sensibility of what is right and what is wrong.” She is Facebook’s director of public policy for India, South and Central Asia.
Hosabale, the third most senior RSS leader, said he liked the post and that Das has articulated what he was feeling.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar is among those accused of sexually harassing women. Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have evaded questions about the government’s position regarding Akbar.
Union minister Smriti Irani on Thursday said the onus of making a statement on the allegations lies with Akbar but added that women who are revealing the names of their alleged harassers should not be victimised, mocked or shamed.
Over the past week, several women, including journalists, have taken to social media to give detailed accounts of the sexual harassment and misconduct they faced. The campaign, which has been dubbed India’s #MeToo movement, has created a storm as several senior journalists, writers and media professionals have been accused of sexual misconduct.
Director Vikas Bahl, former Hindustan Times political editor Prashant Jha, actor Rajat Kapoor, Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah, are among dozens of those who have been accused of sexual misconduct since October 5.
Corrections and clarifications: The article had misspelled Dattatreya Hosabale’s name. It has now been corrected.
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