And I Was Told It Was My Fault

The horrific rape and murder of 31-year-old Moumita Debnath, a trainee doctor in Kolkata, has shaken the country. Bollywood stars like Alia Bhatt, Sara Ali Khan, Vijay Varma, and others have spoken out against the the heinous crime at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Now, joining in on the chorus of outrage, actress Celina Jaitly has shared her own experience of harassment and victim-shaming from her childhood. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), she recounted an incident from when she was in grade six. She wrote, “THE VICTIM IS ALWAYS AT FAULT : In this pic I was in 6th grade only when boys from a nearby university started to wait outside my school.They would follow the school rickshaw making catcalls all the way home everyday.” 

The actress continued, “I pretended not to notice them and few days later because of that they started throwing stones at me in the middle of the road to get my attention. Not one bystander batted an eye. I was told by a teacher : It was because I was ‘too westernised and did not wear loose clothes and did not tie my hair in two braids with oil it was my fault !’”

Recalling another incident where a man exposed himself to her, Celina Jaitly added, “It was also at this age when a man first flashed his private parts to me while waiting for the school rickshaw in the morning. For many years I blamed myself for this incident which I kept to myself running the words of the teacher again and again in my mind that it was MY FAULT!”

Celina Jaitly also recounted a troubling experience, where she was unjustly labelled as having a “loose character” by a teacher. She wrote, “In 11th grade I still remember they cut the wire of my  scooty’s brakes because I was not acknowledging the university boys who heckled and called me rude names & left lewd notes on my scooty. My male class mates got scared for me and told our teachers. My class teacher called me and told me ‘You come across as a FORWARD type of girl, riding a scooty and wearing jeans to extra classes with short open hair that’s why boys think you are of a loose character’ It was always my fault. I still remember that day jumping off my scooty to save myself because of my brake wires being cut off. I was hurt badly and yet it was my fault. My Scooty was damaged… I was both physically and psychologically hurt… And I was told it was MY FAULT!”

Celina Jaitly concluded her note by revealing that her grandfather had to escort her to and from school for safety. “My retired Colonel Grandfather who fought two wars for our country in his old age had to take to escorting me back n forth to school… I still remember those rude boys who chased me even damaging my scooty they also passed derogatory remarks on my retired colonel grandfather making fun of him. Nana stood and stared at them and then he turned away shook his head and I could read his face as he walked away with me. His disgust at the very people he laid his life on line for. It’s time to stand up and ask for our right to be protected WE ARE NOT AT FAULT !” she wrote.

THE VICTIM IS ALWAYS AT FAULT : In this pic I was in 6th grade only when boys from a nearby university started to wait outside my school.They would follow the school rickshaw making catcalls all the way home everyday. I pretended not to notice them and few days later because of… pic.twitter.com/cIrJmiDbQt

— Celina Jaitly (@CelinaJaitly) August 17, 2024

Celina Jaitly is known for working in movies such as Apna Sapna Money Money, No Entry and Golmaal Returns.