Heena Sharma Blog

  A Delhi court is slated to pronounce on Wednesday the judgment in the criminal defamation case filed by former Union Minister and veteran journalist M.J. Akbar against fellow journalist Priya Ramani for accusing him of sexual misconduct. In the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018, Ramani had made allegation of sexual harassment against Akbar. Pursuant to this, he filed the criminal defamation case against her and resigned as the Union Minister. Trial began in 2019 and went on for almost two years. In 2017, Ramani wrote an article for the Vogue where she described her ordeal of being sexually harassed by a former boss during her job interview for his publication. One year later, she revealed that the person alluded to as harasser in article was M.J. Akbar. Akbar told the court that Ramani's allegations were fictitious and cost him his stellar reputation and position. Priya Ramani, on the other hand, contested these claims, pleaded truth as her defence and said that she made al...

A Delhi court Wednesday admits defamation charge against journalist Priya Ramani in a case filed by ex-Union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Ramani, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India. Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct, a charge denied by him. The court listed the matter for hearing on May 4 and also granted permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

Gillette’s new ad – “The best men can be”, which plays on the razor brand’s long-held motto, “The best a man can get” – is powerful and emotional, a carefully-spun narrative about the role models young boys see in their daily lives. It tackles bullying, sexual harassment , inequality in the workplace, and sexism on screen, by promoting courage, humility, responsibility, and kindness. It says all of these behaviours make up that complicated construct, “masculinity”. And it challenges viewers to question what sort of behaviour defines manliness. The mutiny against Gillette’s ad reinforces why we need movements like # MeToo and shows how painfully little distance we as a society have covered since it began. In the wake of various high-profile allegations, #MeToo called out unsavoury behaviour that was somehow condoned by society – behaviour that increasingly comes under the umbrella of “toxic masculinity”. Yet Gillette’s ad, which recognises this drive for change and wants to tak...

In the wake of the # MeToo movement , almost 80 per cent of men have become overly cautious in their interactions with women colleagues, according to a report. The study by market research and analysis company Velocity MR, which had over 2,500 respondents across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Chennai, noted that eight out of 10 people said that formal workplace interactions have been highly impacted as a result of the movement . It found that close to 80 per cent of the respondents said fear of losing their career, family reputation, social stigma, and scepticism could be some of the reasons for the victims not reporting the cases earlier. Also, around 70 per cent of the respondents agreed that even after reporting the cases, victims still face threats. The study further observed that close to 50 per cent of the respondents disapproved of victims reporting the abuse later, while two in five males supported the victims saying they are right in repo...

Sushant Singh Rajput has been accused of sexual misconduct by his "Kizie Aur Manny" co-star Sanjana Sanghi . In his defence, the actor shared screenshots of their SMS conversation and called it a "smear campaign". Sushant on Friday tweeted snapshots of his conversation with Sanjana from the first day to the last day of the film's shoot, and captioned it: "I feel sad to reveal personal information but it seems that there is no other way to state what was, in the midst of this curated and well-timed smear campaign. "From the first till the last day of the shoot, this is what happened on the set with Sanjana." Sanjana has accused the 32-year-old actor of behaving inappropriately on the sets of the movie, saying he made her feel "uncomfortable" with his "overly friendly behaviour" during the shoot in Jodhpur. On Thursday, Twitteratis pointed at Sushant's missing blue verification tick on the micro-blogging p...

Actor Nana Patekar has dismissed as "motivated and malicious" the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by actor Tanushree Dutta in his reply to the Cine and TV Artists' Association (CINTAA). Patekar claimed that Dutta had not made any accusations against him in 2008, when the alleged incident took place. Patekar, through his lawyer Aniket Nikam, sent his reply earlier this week after CINTAA issued a notice to him upon a complaint filed by Dutta. Dutta has alleged that Patekar misbehaved with her during the shooting of a song for the film "Horn Ok Pleaseee" in 2008. Also, when she refused to shoot for the song, Patekar and the film's producer summoned goons to the set who threatened her and damaged her car, she alleged. "My client (Patekar) denies in toto (completely) the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations, insinuation levelled by Dutta," the reply said. Patekar has been subjected to mental haras...

Union minister M J Akbar , facing charges of sexual harassment that go back to his time as newspaper editor, has not only refused to step down but insinuated that the approaching Lok Sabha elections had a bearing on the allegations. Speaking on Sunday after his return from his official visit abroad, he said he would take legal action against the women who had alleged sexual harassment by him. Akbar’s holding out, sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said, stemmed from the seeming support he received from the party leadership. However, the sources also said Akbar was likely to be dropped as minister. Though there is little political cost to the BJP if Akbar goes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has had a track record since his time as chief minister of Gujarat of backing his ministers even when they have faced criminal charges and have been chargesheeted. For the time, Akbar has been given an opportunity to defend himself, party sources said. Read Complete Article ...