Why did serial sexual assaulter Harvey Weinstein get away with settlements?
I have been following the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault saga as much as any other person and so many comments of "powerwomen" that I am all for emancipation, rights and standing up for what we believe in. But is that what it is about?
Forget Weinstein for a moment. We had The Donald boasting about p**sy grab and he went on to get elected as the most powerful man in the democratic world. There are supposedly a lot of women who voted for him "silently". That is the word that matters. Silence. That is the name of the conspiracy and women have been complicit too.
Hollywood actresses Angelina Jolie and Gywneth Paltrow too have been Weinstein's victims. If women with fame, money, standing and a voice stay quiet, what do we — the little-known, anonymous women — do? Do the rich and famous have so much to lose that they will go to such lengths to keep their names in the megalights?
There is also this crucial question of financial settlements. That Harvey boy has "agreed" with his wife to have a trial separation, the details of which have been made public in the form of an outrage that she will not tolerate such behaviour. Weinstein's story is about abuse of power and definitely not about lust or sex. At the end of the day, settlements are hard to walk away from but that is what self-respect is all about and it doesn’t come cheap. There is an element of sacrifice that is often connected to opportunity and money.
In our ordinary lives, haven’t we giggled in a group in the office or stayed silent when a young woman was made fun of with hints of innuendo or just chosen to look away? Doesn't that empower locker room talk and the likes of Weinstein?
On my first job, I worked with a young, attractive woman who would mispronounce words. One day, she pronounced "memory" as mammary and it caused great mirth in the newsroom because the colleague happened to have big breasts. I don’t remember saying anything to contradict it. At the time, I thought I was being "one of the boys" having made a difficult entry into political reporting. It was a one-off incident, but I recall her confused expression and am ashamed of myself.
Perhaps, the incident had a role to play when a much older and powerful man, a close friend — we risen through the ranks together — decided to swerve the car in the direction of his house on the pretext of dropping me home after work. I nearly killed myself as I jerked the door open and fell out of the car; the vehicle screeching even as I was out and running.
It was a clear "no". I walked for hours that night till a considerate old man dropped me home in his rickety auto; I was not sure if I would have my job — one I desperately needed then — the next day.
The morning after, I walked back into the office and the colleague wasn’t there. I could feel my heart pounding. I filed in my stories and at 4.00pm, "he" walked in, the superstar reporter: he leered at me as if challenging me to say a word. I didn’t and I think he was only more relieved. I could have, but I kept silent — and I kept my job.
And, therefore, I feel I am as guilty as Harvey Weinstein.
Also read: What charges of sexual assault against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein reveal