Historically, it is important to acknowledge its origins in Black feminism and Tarana Burke’s call, in 2006, for solidarity among survivors in sharing experiences of sexual harassment. But, as a hashtag, #MeToo became an online movement last year when American actor Alyssa Milano expressed support for her friend Rose McGowan’s allegations against Harvey Weinstein. #MeToo succeeded in that because the elites of showbiz, media and academia recognised the grass-roots work done by lower-class women of colour and the movement engendered solidarity across race and class lines. Now that #MeToo has finally arrived in India, let us take a cue from this context that is undoubtedly ‘Western’, yet instructive for its intersectional roots. For a country where over 833 million people live in villages, we must find a way to relate the movement to the subaltern.

Source: The Hindu October 15, 2018 18:37 UTC