A lot of people have come out over the last two weeks contesting the #MeToo Movement in India is elitist and urban and mainly restricted to media and entertainment. But even as the stories that may be being hard louder belong to the above categories, the people thinking about it are not.
The TOP searching cities for today across the world, October 18, according to Google are –
Cuttack, Odisha
Bhanwreli, Chhattisgarh
Sambalpur, Odisha
Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Dewas, Madhya Pradesh
Not only are all of these small-town cities, they all also happen to be from middle India.
Me Too Rising, is a Google Trends data visualisation tool that was created this April in support of the movement. And the trends reflect the top cities from the entire world, lighting up the locations where the term “Me Too” is being searched for most frequently on the world map.
Another feature of the map is that when you click on the specific city or town in which “Me Too” has been trending, it will showcase stories pertaining to that city if it the stories from it are trending within the city on the same day. If not, you can choose another city.
Since Tanushree Dutta’s brave initiation to the movement on 25 September, it has gained momentum with a lot of media, advertising and entertainment industry professionals, coming out with their experiences of being sexually harassed and raped by male colleagues.
Most recently, it has led to furore in the political world with MJ Akbar stepping down as the Minister of State for External Affairs. The first allegation made by journalist Priya Ramani, followed by a statement released by the journalist bodies and 20 women journalists, who are now ready to back Priya Ramani and testify against Akbar.
If you have suffered sexual harassment, speak up if you can and are ready. Whether in public or anonymously with a professional who you can seek help from. Every second is too long to carry shame that belongs to someone else. There has never been a better time in India to do so.