Inspired By The Movie Thappad, Rajasthan Police Has Started A Helpline For Women To Report Mental Abuse And Domestic Violence
Last year, we saw one of the most toxic films of its time hit the screens, and send the nation spiralling into heated debates about whether it was okay to get violent in a relationship or not. The movie Kabir Singh single-handedly pushed feminism back by decades by promoting a culture of toxic masculinity and misogyny that justified the protagonist’s behaviour and not surprisingly, inspired men to show their intensity of love in disturbingly violent ways. And while that film did a lot of damage to the fragile and already skewed mindset of the society, one movie that ended up undoing some of it, was Taapsee Pannu starrer Thappad.
The Anubhav Sinha directed film talks about misogyny and entitlement and holds up a mirror to the reality that most women live with. Though the film met with a lot of criticism before its release, for the idea of ‘just one slap’ creating so much commotion was a little odd for people to digest, once the movie hit the screens, it convinced the audience of how even one slap is enough and too much to endure.
Pointing out the obvious patriarchy in society, the movie did more than just give all of us women some courage and the men a reality check, it inspired Rajasthan Police to actually step up and do something domestic violence. As the number of cases being reported for domestic violence and abuse increases, Rajasthan Police has taken an initiative to come up with a helpline number for the women to report mental abuse and domestic violence.
Also Read : Thappad Writer Mrunmayee Shares How They Were Constantly Asked If One Slap Was Enough. And Like Her, We Say Yes
घरेलू हिंसा है एक #थप्पड़ !
मानसिक उत्पीड़न है एक #थप्पड़ !1090, 112 डायल करें या अपने नज़दीकी #PS में Complain करें।#StopDomesticViolence #StopDomesticAbuse#Thappad#ThursdayThought@taapsee @anubhavsinha @Manavkaul19 @pavailkgulati @deespeak @MinistryWCD @unwomenindia pic.twitter.com/uuHXjHgcjO
— Rajasthan Police (@PoliceRajasthan) March 5, 2020
Taking to twitter, they have shared a picture of actress Taapsee Pannu and written, “घरेलू हिंसा है एक #थप्पड़ ! मानसिक उत्पीड़न है एक #थप्पड़ ! 1090, 112 डायल करें या अपने नज़दीकी #PS में Complain करें।” The banner also says, “Just a slap par nahi maar sakta” And we are honestly impressed to see the kind of impact this movie has had on people who actually do want to be part of the solution and not the problem.
Taapsee Pannu too shared the news through her social media and we hope that this initiative is adopted by more and more states, given the need of the hour. It is time we put an end to the gross glorification and justification of toxic masculinity and embolden women into speaking up and standing up for themselves. We hope to see this initiative bring about the kind of change we so deeply desire!
