# MeToo Movement : From the twitterati hashtag to a global phenomenon.

The MeToo movement which began as a hashtag on Twitter has now become a global phenomenon. It is a good start towards empowering and securing women and was initiated by an African-American social activist Tarana Burke against the concern of masses on the matter of sexual abuse.

In India the MeToo movement has exposed a deep wound, the wound that has been festering for decades. It takes a lot of courage for a girl to come out in the open and talk about her #MeToo story and hats off to the one’s who have spoken up. Several women have bravely come out with stories about harassment and sexual abuse at workplace at the hands of the powerful men.

This movement is not about MJ Akbar or Nana Patekar or other powerful men who are now in trouble, but is a result of dominant patriarchal attitude and social construct that has taken the shape of customs making it difficult for the laws to enforce themselves.

We live in a sensible society which has shown some great sense of support to different movements of social concern but can we bring the same sense of outrage to an offence that leaves no visible wounds, no dead bodies.

An equitable culture will not happen by any sudden magic neither it is possible by just figment of one’s imagination. That’s why it becomes crucial for men, especially the generation of 20’s and 30’s who have been brought up by working mothers to stand up for the rights of their sisters, daughters, wives and mothers to let them work with dignity in a safe atmosphere.

It is likely however that the #MeToo movement would prove to be more effective in preventing future harassment than in bringing retrospective justice for past misconduct.

On the other hand, this MeToo campaign might be blown out of proportions with false allegations as it takes just one story to spoil someone’s name and career and may end up as a pitch to settle scores. A mutual relationship that fetched benefits at one time but turned abusive later is not #MeToo.

 We need to make sure that this movement doesn’t gets diluted. Hence, it’s important that we handle this movement responsibly as it’s not just about #MeToo, it’s about #HimToo and it’s about  #YouToo.