Swati Maliwal, Aam Aadmi Party leader and the chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), has said that she was sexually assaulted by her father when she was a child. She claimed the experience left a lasting impact on her, and therefore she was driven to fight for the rights of women as a result.
She made narrated her childhood ordeal speaking to journalists after the DCW International Women’s Day Awards ceremony. She said that she became emotional from the stories of the awardees, as all of them are powerful stories, and the awardees have done a lot of struggle.
After that she continued, “I was sexually assaulted by my own father when I was a child. I was very small at that time. My father used to beat me up and I used to hide under the bed to save myself,” she said.
“While hiding under the bed, I used to think how I will teach a lesson to such men who abuse women and children, and how I can help women get their rights,” Swati Maliwal further said.
She said that her father used to grad her hair and slam her against the wall, causing her injuries. “This happened till I was in Class 4,” she added.
#WATCH | "I was sexually assaulted by my father when I was a child. He used to beat me up, I used to hide under the bed," DCW chief Swati Maliwal expresses her ordeal alleging her father sexually assaulted her during childhood pic.twitter.com/GsUqKDh2w8
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2023
The DCW chief mentioned her own childhood story while referring to the viral videos of harassment of women during Holi. She added that the DCW has issued a notice to the Delhi Police to probe the videos and nab the perpetrators.
“A video went viral on the internet where some men were applying Holi colours to a Japanese woman, she was feeling harassed, molested and screaming for help. Those men did not stop. We are issuing a notice to Delhi Police. Those men should be identified and put behind jail,” said the DCW chief.
Swati Maliwal’s revelations came after Khushbu Sundar, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and a member of the National Commission for Women, had made similar allegations against her own father. Khushbu Sundar earlier today said that she was sexually abused by her father when she was a child, and she is not ashamed about the incident as she came out with honesty.
“I have not made a startling statement. I think that was an honesty which I have come out with. I am not ashamed of what I have said because this has happened to me and I think the perpetrator needs to be ashamed for what he has done,” the BJP leader told ANI when asked about her statement about being sexually abused by her father at the age of eight.
Sundar further said that with her revelation she wants women to speak about what has happened to them.
“I think I need to send the message across that you have to be strong and take control of yourself and not let anything bring you down or think that this is the end of the road. If I have taken so many years to speak about it, I think women need to speak about it and tell them this has happened to me and I will continue my journey, no matter what,” she added.
