18 December,2017 06:05 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day correspondent
We live in times where breaking the silence is actively encouraged, and is now actually quite fashionable
We live in times where breaking the silence is actively encouraged, and is now actually quite fashionable.
Women and men have finally started to speak out about sexual harassment. Molestors are being named and shamed, whether they are men in power or relatively unknown. Those bravehearts sharing their horrific experiences also vary from regular men and women to well-known celebrities, whose confessions, replete with their vulnerabilities, doubts and frailties, have shocked the world.
Even as the fight against sexual harassment has spread wide under the hashtag MeToo, artistes are now exploring other ways to break the silence about other taboo topics as well.
For instance, reports on the just out trailer of the Akshay Kumar film, Padman, are refreshing. The comedy-drama film is all about breaking the taboo surrounding menstruation. It is a natural extension of a movement that began a couple of months ago, with online campaigns like #happytobleed.
Taking the discussion to the celluloid platform with Padman is yet another way that creative artistes are cottoning on joining the movement. We need to break the silence on all fronts. Well-planned campaigns, thought-provoking art, holding no-blushes-let's-speak-about-it discussions about taboo topics - this will give rise to a healthy society.
Influential voices, performers, thinkers and writers must lead the way in breaking the mould, because it is when they speak up that society sits up to truly listen. It is from their words that ordinary men and women draw inspiration and courage to speak out too. Here's to more openness and fewer taboos.
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