Mallika Sherawat recalls being bullied by media and female co-stars for saying ‘Indian society is regressive for women’

Mallika Sherawat shared a clip of a debate where she highlighted the treatment of women in India, pointing to issues like female infanticide, gang rapes, and child marriages.

She defended her previous statement calling India “regressive for women” and criticized influential women for silencing voices against sexual violence, particularly in the case of a Kolkata doctor’s murder.

Mallika Sherawat recently shared an old clip on her Instagram account in which she debated with a media personnel at a press meet about the safety of women in India.

The actress was questioned about her previous statement in an interview where she said, “India is regressive for women.”

She reshared the clip to emphasize how women are treated in India, in light of the nationwide outrage following the ‘rape and murder’ of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

watch the video here:

 

When the interviewer asked her why she thought Indian society is regressive for women, she responded, “I’ll tell you exactly why. This is my point of view. With female infanticide happening almost daily, with gang rapes making the headlines of every newspaper, and with honor killings—today, only I tweeted about it. Today, I read in the paper, according to UNFPA, 40% of Indian women—40%—are married below the age of 18. I think it’s a very, very regressive state for women, and I stand by that.”

She further added, “When an interviewer asks me what I have to say about these gang rapes, which are the headlines in the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN—what do I say? Am I going to lie? Should I lie? As a woman, should I lie about the state of women in our country? So I didn’t lie.”

The actress captioned her post, “I still can’t forget this moment when I was attacked and bullied by a certain section of the Indian press for speaking out against gang rapes and sexual violence in India! Some women in the press and some very big names in Bollywood—female actresses—joined the chorus and publicly attacked me for speaking out against gang rapes and sexual violence.

She further expressed her solidarity with the deceased doctor from Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital: “This phenomenon highlights a troubling dynamic where, instead of supporting someone advocating for change, these women in influential positions are engaging in silencing the voices of women like me! This behavior perpetuates a culture of silence and complicity that allows sexual violence to continue. It’s crucial for women, especially those in the public eye, to stand in solidarity and use their platforms to support, rather than vilify, those who speak out against such injustices.”