“#MeToo today has become vindictive”

The session, ‘The Originals: Feminism before the hashtags’ began with a candid confession.

“When we were first given the topic, the word ‘Originals’ confused us and then, when we saw the word, ‘hashtags’ we were flummoxed even more!” said author and columnist Shobhaa De, who was moderating the session that had Nayantara Sahgal and Shashi Deshpande as panelists.

Following that introduction, the panel dove right in, kicking off the discussion with the #MeToo movement. “Do you think hashtags diminish the impact of a movement or a moment,” De wondered. Alluding to the MeToo hashtag, Sahgal didn’t mince words. She said, “I have taken a stand against MeToo. That’s because in a democracy, no one is guilty because somebody said so. MeToo today has become vindictive, there’s a certain witch-hunt happening and so I don’t support it.”

Deshpande offered a counterpoint. “I see the #MeToo movement not as a standalone movement. It is part of a bigger movement that women have been fighting for years against oppression from men who have been using their bodies for pleasure. As a person who believes in speaking out, I am all for the movement,” she said.

The discussion which saw a packed audience also broached the topic of women writers being distinguished based on their gender. Does the tag women’s writer bother them? “I have been fighting it for the longest time. Writing really has no gender,” Deshpande said.

Changing focus to the country’s political climate, De wondered if it was imperative for people to take a stand. “You can’t make it imperative because then you are going against the grain of democracy. I think you need to give people the choice. That said, I don’t think silence is an option anymore,” Deshpande said.


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