Earlier this week, Raya Sarkar, a law student with Indian roots based in the US put out a list of Indian academics who have been accused of sexual harassment. She had posted it on Facebook account and the post soon went viral with many people reaching out to her speaking about their own experiences with abusive professors in prominent Indian universities.
Meanwhile, champion of naming and shaming sexual harassers, the Leftists cabal have taken it upon themselves to prove how this naming and shaming is ‘blackening faces’ and was uneasy with the name and shame list. In a statement, the Leftist cabal has come out in open to support one of their own.
The statement reads,
As feminists, we have been part of a long struggle to make visible sexual harassment at the workplace, and have worked with the movement to put in place systems of transparent and just procedures of accountability. We are dismayed by the initiative on Facebook, in which men are being listed and named as sexual harassers with no context or explanation. One or two names of men who have been already found guilty of sexual harassment by due process, are placed on par with unsubstantiated accusations. It worries us that anybody can be named anonymously, with lack of answerability. Where there are genuine complaints, there are institutions and procedures, which we should utilize. We too know the process is harsh and often tilted against the complainant. We remain committed to strengthening these processes. At the same time, abiding by the principles of natural justice, we remain committed to due process, which is fair and just.
This manner of naming can delegitimize the long struggle against sexual harassment, and make our task as feminists more difficult.
We appeal to those who are behind this initiative to withdraw it, and if they wish to pursue complaints, to follow due process, and to be assured that they will be supported by the larger feminist community in their fight for justice.
The statement is singed by 12 self proclaimed feminists including Ayesha Kidwai, the Leftist professor from JNU, who believes she is a parallel judiciary by leading a public inquiry against the Vice Chancellor of JNU, Nivedita Menon, who believes Kashmir is not an integral part of India, Vrinda Grover, the advocate who rallied to save Yakub Memon and Kavita Krishnan, pro-Naxal ideologue activist who tried to pass off Diwali as a non-religious festival.
While it is ironical that Ayesha Kidwai, the one leading a kangaroo court against sitting JNU VC wants to push for legal and due process, Kavita’s hypocrisy got called out since she has in the past very vocally advocated naming and shaming the perpetrators of sexual harassment. She argues that we cannot afford to throw away due process and adopt vigilantism.
My take – ‘It’s like blackening faces’: Why I am uneasy with the name and shame list of sexual harassers https://t.co/LiCdQibqOB
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) October 25, 2017
Of course, Twitter was quick to point out her hypocrisy.
Abuse on SM: Name & Shame them
Indian Army: Name & Shame them
Sexual Harassment: I’m uneasy with the Name & Shame.
Check the reason ? pic.twitter.com/5bxj27RnZl
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) October 26, 2017
She also thought naming and shaming is one of the ways to make Internet a safe space for women.
@Hirishitalkies Few options ‘cept name/shame/block. Report 2 FB/Twitter/cops rarely helps @anjakovacs @karunanundy @chinmayiarun #SafeSpace
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) August 21, 2014
One is forced to ask – Why keep quiet now? Why did JNU Teachers Association rally behind Arshad Alam, a professor at JNU who was found guilty of sexually molesting a student?
Perhaps one of the reasons could be what this Twitter user pointed out.
All of them are your ideological brothers https://t.co/LSdbdVr4Nj
— दस्यू (@khadheran) October 25, 2017
This may not be farfetched since most in the original list put up by Raya Sarkar, whose Facebook account is now restored after being blocked by Facebook, are Leftist professors. The left ecosystem does indeed look out for one of their own, even if it goes against everything they pretend to stand for.
