‘Abusive behaviour towards women is an act of violence’ …says theatre person Raell Padamsee, as she talks about the safety of women in the city

‘Abusive behaviour towards women is an act of violence’

…says theatre person Raell Padamsee, as she talks about the safety of women in the city

Theatre enthusiast Raell Padamsee has always tried to do her bit towards social causes like girl child education and female infanticide. It’s no surprise then that she lends her full support to DNA’s I Can Women’s Half Marathon, an initiative that underlines issues like girl child education, public safety of women and cervical cancer. Says Raell, “These are all causes that are very close to my heart. I’ve been associated with an NGO that works to reduce female infanticide in the country. If I told you the stats, you’d be appalled. Things are frightening even in areas close to Mumbai that’s supposed to be so urban and liberal. The root cause is of course educating the female child. Yes, the government has free education programmes for the girl child, but there’s no serious implementation.” Raell also feels that things could be better when it comes to safety of women. She, in fact, sounds agitated. “Eve teasing is appalling! There’s no change in the scenario whatsoever. Whether it was the time I was 12 or now, it’s still the same. You have to walk down Colaba Causeway with the bag in front of your chest,” rues Raell, adding that one needs to confront the bully. Standing up to them makes them cower. Having said that, she recalls an incident when her friend who had hit an eve teaser, to defend herself, he had hit her back. “Abusive behaviour towards women is an act of violence. It must be tackled right now. Women have to be given their due — not because they are somebody’s mother or wife, but just as a woman. Gender bias starts at a young age, so children must be taught to respect women at the formative years,” asserts Raell. However, she does admit that the mentality has to change at the grassroots level. Twenty years ago, when she was doing a project on women empowerment, Raell recalls having faced the bitter truth. “We were interviewing women in the slums. But they didn’t want our help. They didn’t want a job because they’d work outside, work doubly hard doing the household chores, and their money would be taken away by their husbands,” she says. But Raell isn’t all pessimistic either. “I think we’ve come a long way today. There’s a lot being done already and far more emphasis placed on education. That should continue.”