Sayani Gupta said rapists should sit at home

Sayani Gupta on Friday said that men should sit at home if they don’t know how to behave. The actor, who was speaking at the world premiere of Shame at the 20th MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star, also added that women should also be careful that they don’t expose themselves to unsafe environments.

When asked how she felt about the ostracisation of the accused, Sayani said it was the need of the hour that perpetrators of sexual harassment be punished. I am so proud and I couldn’t have been prouder and happier. I am so grateful to these women who have been so courageous to have shared their experiences. To first face these things themselves and then talk about them in front of the world, it’s so inspiring. “This should have happened 15-20 years ago. This has been happening for generations now. It just takes one person to talk about it. I am so grateful to Tanushree for starting it out,” Sayani Gupta said.

She added “I am all for going and beating them up. Of course, one can’t take law in their hand. I was groped by an old man in a bus when I was seven or eight. All I did was with all my might squashed his foot and he screamed. That’s what you do. You defend yourself.There’s a lot of responsibility when you know that the person is untrustworthy and women have the sixth sense. You can’t deny that. You know when you are talking to a man or a woman, who is acting weird or strangely or has a weird gaze, so don’t go in there. Don’t go into that room. Don’t expose yourself to an unsafe environment. What did our mothers teach us? You have to be safe.

Sayani Gupta also talked about the effect of allegations on the families of the accused. She said, “I am a big believer of that rapists should sit at home. I feel terrible for the families who are going through this. We shouldn’t be pulling children or wives into this because they are already going through really traumatic times. They are either learning something new about their father, brother or son. Or they already knew about them and now they are being publicly shamed now. It’s not their fault that they have a creep in their families.”