Cinema glorifies eve-teasing? Maneka Gandhi blames films for rise in violence against women

Maneka Gandhi said violence against women is increasing because of the indecent representation of them in Bollywood and regional movies.

Panaji, April 8: At a function in Panaji on Friday, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi alleged that films--both regional and Hindi--glorify sexual harassment against women which has led to rise in violence against women in the country.

"We have very important reason why men believe they can get away or they indulge in violence against women and that is films. If you look at films, which is a way to communicate messages, you will find romance almost always starts with eve-teasing. The man and friends will surround a woman, be mean to her trip her up, show her down, abuse her, touch her inappropriately and slowly she falls in love with him," Gandhi said.

The minister said cinema, a popular medium of entertainment, needs to change the way it depicts women and their issues.

"Romance in almost every film starts with eve-teasing, be it Hindi or in regional films," she added. Gandhi said that the powerlessness of men also lead to violence against women. "The man's feeling of powerlessness, he is being shouted at, his failure in job is also one of the reasons of violence against women."

Gandhi is not the first one to allege that cinema is the cause of violence against women. However, filmmakers refuse to buy the allegation, stating that it is otherway round and cinema actually gets inspired by real-life incidents while depicting women or women-related stories.

OneIndia News