Normalising Harassment

If you’re a woman but you’ve never had a tryst with a roadside Romeo who can’t take no for an answer, congratulations on being a lucky minority. 
He is that guy who sees a woman once or a few times and decides he is in love with her. He tells his friends that he will have her, even though she has no interest in him or is pretty keen on some other man, disregarding her wishes completely. He probably doesn’t know anything about her than what she posts online, he doesn’t care about her consent — he mentally puts her on a high pedestal and creates a false mental picture of her. He follows her around, sends persistent texts though she never replies and stalks her social profiles like a creep. 

We have all come across such people at some point, who do not understand that the key to a woman’s heart is not through coercion or illegal activities like stalking. The young man pining for his so-called love does not know that his behaviour is highly intrusive and abusive to the lady.

What happens when the guy in love can't take 'no' for an answer from the girl? Remember Swathi's murder? Or recently Ashwini? Or the case of all the other girls who've had acid poured on their faces or gruesomely killed?
What's behind this form of harassment that Indian women face on everyday basis?

The Indian cinema has a very strong influence on the mindset of the Indian public. I believe most of the sexual harassment faced by women in India can be greatly reduced if the movie industry changes the way gender roles are portrayed in Cinema. Boys are taught from a young age that women are required just to add sizzle or spice to one’s life. Nobody shows the heroine’s dreams, career aspirations, her battles and her success in life. Her ever after is bagging the prince and just that.

When popular heroes subject to ogling, catcalling, stalking, blackmailing and abusing their ladyloves who eventually fall in love with the harasser, it is only natural for the hero-worshipping youth to follow in their footsteps.

The movie industry needs to realise that it has a lot of responsibility and power in addressing this issue. It’s time for them to act.

Check out these:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/srishtidixit/this-song-from-akshay-kumars-new-movie-disguises-stalking?utm_term=.duKJMjqLX#.llp9Yp1RV
 https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/bollywood/050217/bollywood-and-its-stalk-value.html