NEWDELHI: Nearly 61 professors and academicians have been called “sexual harasser” in viral Facebook post. The list, floated by 24-year-old law student Raya Sarkar, consists of names from over 30 universities, colleges and institutes.
Nearly 10 names are from Delhi University and another 10 from Jadavpur University. Other universities include Ambedkar University (AUD), Film and Television Institute (FTII), Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) etc.
In the Facebook post, Sarkar, a master law student at University of California Davis School of Law, writes, “If any one knows of academics who have sexually harassed/were sexually predatory to them or have seen it first hand PM me and I’ll add them to the list.”
Raya claims that the was prepared not with institutional action in mind, but as a cautionary list for students.
Responding to this, fourteen feminists, including Kavita Krishnan and Nivedita Menon, published a post on online blog Kafila asking Sarkar to take down the the post “in which men are being listed and named as sexual harassers with no context or explanation.
“It worries us that anybody can be named anonymously, with lack of answerability,” says the statement.
Explaining the rationale behind, a Facebook profile named Inji Pennu tagged Raya Sarkar and said the list was “put together as first-person accounts when women are coming forward to talk” after due diligence.
Recently, #MeToo campaign went viral on social media, following allegations of sexual harassment by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Thousands of women came forward to speak about being harassed by men in position of power.
Bureau Report
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