Opinion Sakshi Malik’s resignation, Brij Bhushan’s impunity: When hope is lost

There was anger when the sit-in protest by India’s women wrestlers began in January this year: Over not being heard, over having suffered, for far too long, under the thumb of a man who they accused of abusing his power. But the year has ended and photographs of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh appear everywhere, celebrating the election of Sanjay Singh, his longtime aide and friend, as the new chief of the Wrestling Federation of India. The mood turns to one of resignation — literal, of course, in the sense that Olympic champion Sakshi Malik, one of the leading faces of the protest and a staunch critic of Brij Bhushan’s reign, resigned from the sport in an emotional press conference on the day the results were announced. Wrestler Bajrang Punia is set to return his Padma Shri in solidarity. But also because what hope for justice can possibly remain when the man you’ve fought to have investigated for his alleged crimes, who remains a Member of the very Parliament outside which you and your fellow protestors were dragged and shoved into police vans, has prevailed? True, he was forced to resign from his position as the WFI president, but the image of his garland-laden figure, flashing the victory sign next to the new president, speaks volumes.

Those who’ve followed the wrestlers’ fight for justice may remember the moment in 2017 when anger against entrenched misogyny in the Malayalam film industry exploded following an assault on a woman actor, allegedly masterminded by one of the leading male stars. It led to the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective, which came together to bring to light the sexism — both casual and otherwise — that women working in the industry routinely encountered. There was some hope then, that action would lead to change — as there was when the Kerala High Court ruled in March 2022 that film industry organisations would need to comply with the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013.

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But few things have changed on the ground. At an event in June this year, film editor Bina Paul, who is also a founding member of the WCC, spoke of the difficulty of “changing mindsets” in an industry where, even after a long and highly publicised fight against misogyny, “powerful men…still get away with a lot.” Seen in this light, the Kerala government’s continued reluctance to release the Justice Hema Committee report on problems faced by women in the film industry becomes more damning. The committee, which was formed by the Kerala government shortly after the 2017 sexual assault, submitted its report in 2019. Despite repeated demands that it be released, including from the women who were interviewed, there is little clarity on when, if ever, its recommendations will be implemented.

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Plus ca change, one is tempted to say about both cases. That is the cynical response — animated by the very opposite sentiment that powered two protests in two different parts of the country against the entrenched power of men. Hope, though, has not got the women in either case much further than they were — committees were formed, investigations were carried out, enquiries were made and reports were tabled. And, if at the end of the day, those against whom allegations of misuse of power and position were made remain unaffected, brushing off complaints and flexing their muscles, is it any wonder that anger sours into resignation?

pooja.pillai@expressindia.com