Why Are We Hellbent On Criticising Aishwarya, Vivek & Now Somi But Not Willing To Question Salman Khan?

Somy Ali recently took to her Instagram handle and shared a post where she accused ex-boyfriend, Salman Khan of verbal, sexual and physical abuse. In the video, she shared that she was never able to speak up about it in the past since she was in trauma. Ali wants him to confess and issue a public apology. She further shared that Khan should unban her docuseries, No More Tears in India as she has given years of blood and sweat to it.

Somy Ali further questioned Salman Khan on how he can deny all the accusations and ban her show in the country. She further shared that she hopes Khan finds grace in himself and apologises to her publicly and confesses what he did in the past.

In her post, Somy Alia also revealed that back in the 90s, everybody knew that she was being abused by Salman Khan.

Why Did Somi Ali Come Out So Late?

I see this question popping up all over social media ever since Somy Ali revealed her relationship with Khan publicly. Well, should this question be asked in the first place I wonder. Clearly, we haven't been able to change the victim- blaming attitude that continues to persist for ages now. Victim blaming is quite a popular culture in the country and it all roots from the backwardness of the society.

All Of It To Only Grab Eyeballs?

Let's take you back to the time when #MeToo movement first arrived in India. Many big names like Nana Patekar, Sajid Khan, Rajat Kapoor, and Vikas Bahl made it to the list and made headlines overnight. While on one hand, women were applauded for opening up about their ordeals, on the other hand, many called it the dark side of the movement, citing that it was all done to grab attention and charges were all fake, only to harass the accused.

Years later today, an alleged victim like Somy Ali is being questioned why she did not choose to make some noise when she was subjected to the alleged abuse. However, none questioned the accused Salman Khan here.

When Aishwarya Rai Accused Salman Khan Of Physical Violence

Back in the 90s and 2000s, Aishwarya Rai and Salman Khan's relationship was the talk of the town. The two parted ways in the year 2002 and Rai went on record to confirm the same. Aishwarya Rai in an interview with a national daily said, "Salman and I broke up last March, but he isn't able to come to terms with it...After we broke up, he would call me and talk rubbish. He also suspected me of having affairs with my co-stars. I was linked up with everyone, from Abhishek Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan. There were times when Salman got physical with me, luckily without leaving any marks. And, I would go to work as if nothing had happened. Salman hounded me and caused physical injuries to himself when I refused to take his calls."

In an interview, Salman Khan had responded to Rai's accusations of physical violence. He shared that if he hits somebody in a fight, he is going to whack and give his best shot and if he would have with Rai, he doesn't think she would have survived and the accusations are thus not true.

When Vivek Oberoi Got Life Threatening Calls From Khan

Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi were back in the 2000s making headlines for their alleged relationship. This was after Rai and Khan had broken up. Back then, Oberoi called a press conference in a hotel room where he shared that he was getting life threatening calls from Salman Khan. Vivek Oberoi's courageous act backfired for him and negatively affected his career. Following the conference, Oberoi saw constant lows in his career, film makers refrained from signing him for any projects.

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When Salman Khan Took A Dig At Vivek Oberoi

During his game show, Dus Ka Dum, Salman Khan took a dig at him while guests Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh were on the show. Watch the video -

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A post shared by Salman Khan (@beingsalmankhan_25)

The Curious Case Of Victim Blaming

In a country like India, where thousands of women are subjected to abuse each day, only a few get vocal about it. Why? The nasty victim blaming. Even when movements like #metoo took the country by storm, women resisted coming forward and sharing their stories of harassment and abuse. Again, it all wheels around the stereotypes - the guilt, embarrassment, dishonour that comes with speaking out about abuse. For ages now, women have been taught to keep their families’ 'izzat' (honour) and most women fear reporting incidents of abuse since they believe it would only dishonour their family. This social conditioning prevents women from reporting heinous crimes and the result? Such crimes continue to be on a rise and the perpetrators roam free.

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Not surprising at all, Somy Ali has now pulled down her video from her Instagram where she accused Salman Khan of physical violence. We ponder if it is the ‘honour’ pulling her back? However, Ali hasn’t shared why she chose to take down the post yet.

With a big name like Salman Khan getting away with another alleged case of physical violence, the society is only likely to normalise abusive behaviour in days to come. Don't you think?