MJ Akbar Returns To The Newsroom And Women Are Justifiably Furious. No Consequences For #MeToo Accused?

MJ Akbar Returns To The Newsroom And Women Are Justifiably Furious. No Consequences For #MeToo Accused?

As if the world was given some TikTok challenge of becoming even more shittier for women, #MeToo accused former Union Minister and journalist MJ Akbar is reportedly returning to the newsroom. For those not aware (which is rather unlikely), in 2018, during the first #MeToo wave, journalist Priya Ramani and multiple other women journos, like NPR’s Pallavi Gogoi, accused MJ Akbar of sexual harassment in the workplace. There were blazing editorials written, revelations made, and Akbar even filed a defamation lawsuit against Ramani, which the latter was acquitted in. This case was perhaps one of the defining cases of India’s #MeToo movement. And yet, not only is the accused roaming free while the women he allegedly harassed continue to live with the trauma, but he has also been hired by a news channel, Zee Media’s WION.

Delhi-HC-Adjourns-Akbar's-Appeal-Against-Ramani-Acquittal

According to a report by Newslaundry on Wednesday, MJ Akbar’s hiring has not yet been announced by the channel, but he has been present at their editorial meetings which has sparked discomfort amongst the staff. I wonder why… (sarcasm).

Similarly women journalists, social media influencers and #MeToo survivors are justifiably outraged. This reeks of the fact that no matter how much women come forward to call out the men who’ve wronged them, society continues to let them get away with a token slap on the wrist. More easily if they are powerful men with the right clout. And then it wonders why women say #AllMenAreTrash. Because as you can clearly see, the patriarchy that fosters such sexual predators isn’t just trash, it’s the non-biodegradable plastic kind, which when you dump, gets thrown back at you because it is going nowhere for another hundred thousand years.

Also Read: Verdict In MJ Akbar Defamation Case Against Priya Ramani Deferred. Why Justice Delayed In #MeToo Cases Is Detrimental To The Movement

https://twitter.com/GargiRawat/status/1428247396597653512?s=20

Also Read: #MeToo Accused Louis CK, Bill Cosby Are Planning Comebacks. Tell Us Again About ‘Consequences’ For Men

Ab theek hi hai na? Disgraced American comedian Louis CK is back on tour. Bill Cosby, who was accused and then set free on multiple counts of sexual assault, despite damning accounts, is planning his return to television. Didn’t Vikas Bahl get cleared of his sexual assault charges by some internal committee and go on to direct a show recently? Suhel Seth, reportedly accused in #MeToo is #FreeToo. So why should we be surprised that former Union Minister and journalist MJ Akbar, accused during the first #MeToo wave of sexual harassment by multiple women journalists, chiefly Priya Ramani, is back to his day job in the news room? I mean, when have men ever really faced the full blow of consequences for their crimes against women, right? Instead, we’re asked to think about them as humans with careers, families, and talent, even when they never treated their own victims as humans when they preyed on them.

Sometimes I wonder if Harvey Weinstein was that one titan that we got as an appeasement sacrifice. But with so many going free with barely any consequences most of which are a monetary, it’s as if this world of men is trying to tell us, “Look, we gave you one or two punching bags to project all your wrath on and get your justice or closure or whatever it is you women seek. Ask no more for severe consequences for all the other men like MJ Akbar.

Supreme Court Staffer Who Accused Former CJI Gogoi Of Sexual Harassment Was A Potential Pegasus Surveillance Target

Jinal Bhatt

A Barbie girl with Oppenheimer humour. Sharp-tongue feminist and pop culture nerd with opinions on movies, shows, books, patriarchy, your boyfriend, everything.

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