South actress Anna Ben Nayarambalam who primarily works in Malayalam-language films, shared her sexual harassment ordeal in an emotional Instagram post.
Best known for her 2019 film "Kumbalangi Nights", Anna revealed that she was groped inside Lulu mall in Kochi while visiting with her family.
She shared that two men walked past her in a spacious aisle of the Lulu hypermarket, stating that there was barely any crowd. One of them “not so accidentally” grazed his hands on her balk leaving her shocked and “caught off guard”.
Anna mentioned that she couldn’t react immediately but know something wrong had happened.
However, it did not end there. The two men followed again and when they found her alone with her sister, they approached and tried to make a conversation. When they saw Anna’s mother approaching, they left.
“Being a woman has been very tiring, to be on guard every minute as you step out of your house. To watch my clothes when I bend and turn. To guard my chest with my arms in a crowd… And on the days I’m home, I worry about my mother, my sister, my friends who have to do the same things. It is all because of these sick men. You take away our safety. You take away our comfort and the joy of our womanhood. I despise you,” the actor wrote."
“As I type this I can think of a thousand things I could have told them and a hundred things I could have done. But I didn’t. I just couldn’t. I just wanted to let this out here so I could feel a little relief. To feel that I have done something about it knowing fully that they walked away without guilt or trouble. Knowing that they might do it again, it angers me,” she added.
In a stern message to the men, she said, "If you have done anything remotely inappropriate to a woman, know that you are the lowest form of life and you don’t deserve anything but hell".
Addressing the women, she added, "I hope you have the courage to give a tight slap on the face of such men."
Meanwhile, the police have registered a case, stating that they’re yet to receive a complaint from the actress. However, a suo motu case has been registered based on her IG post. They have also examined the CCTV footage of the mall finding her allegation to be prima facie true.