In the wake of the Kolkata rape and murder case that has shaken the nation, actress Celina Jaitly has shared a deeply personal account of her own experiences with harassment during her childhood. In a poignant social media post on Sunday, the actress recounted the harassment she endured as a young girl and the pervasive victim-blaming that followed.
Jaitly began by recalling an incident from when she was in sixth grade. She described how boys from a nearby university began waiting outside her school, following her rickshaw home daily while making catcalls. “I pretended not to notice them, and a few days later, because of that, they started throwing stones at me in the middle of the road to get my attention. Not one bystander batted an eye,” she wrote, emphasising the indifference of those around her.
Instead of receiving support, Jaitly was blamed for the harassment. She recounted how a teacher told her that the incidents were her fault because she was “too westernised” and didn’t conform to traditional attire. “I was told by a teacher: It was because I was ‘too westernized,’ did not wear loose clothes, and did not tie my hair in two braids with oil that it was my fault!” Jaitly shared. She also revealed a disturbing incident from the same period, when a man exposed himself to her while she was waiting for her school rickshaw. “For many years, I blamed myself for this incident, running the teacher’s words again and again in my mind—that it was MY FAULT!”
The harassment continued into her teenage years. In 11th grade, Jaitly recounted how university boys cut the brake wires of her scooty because she ignored their advances. When her male classmates reported the situation, her class teacher once again blamed her, stating, “You come across as a FORWARD type of girl, riding a scooty and wearing jeans to extra classes with short open hair. That’s why boys think you are of a loose character.”
Celina Jaitly’s revelations highlight the pervasive issue of victim-blaming in society, where women and girls are often held responsible for the actions of their harassers. Her story serves as a stark reminder of the need to address these harmful attitudes and support survivors in their fight for justice.
