Bollywood Actresses’ Victim Blaming Video’s Gone Viral

The members of Indian comedy group All India Bakchod have created a video titled “It’s Your Fault” to address the issue of rape plaguing their country. The short film stars two women who use satire to highlight the absurdity of blaming victims of sexual assault. On YouTube, the group states: “Every sexual assault case in India inspires a string of stupid and hateful remarks against women. This is our response to those remarks.”

Their response begins with an actress turning toward the camera and asking, “Ladies, you think rape is something men do out of a desire for control, empowered by years of patriarchy? You’ve clearly been misled by the notion that women are people too. Because let’s face it Ladies: rape, it’s your fault.”

Throughout the three and a half minutes, the Bollywood actresses appear battered and bruised, but always with a large, sardonic smile plastered on their face, perfectly representing the misguided idea that women must simply grin and bear it. According to Al-Jazeera English:

Are women responsible for protecting themselves from rape?…Comedy group All India Bakchod’s…video shows women sarcastically blaming themselves for what they wear, working late into the night, and not fighting back. The video shows women increasingly bruised and bloodied as they repeat the phrase, “Women, it’s your fault”.

The video added fuel to India’s ongoing debate on tackling rape, as well as raised questions about whether sarcasm was the best vehicle for the discussion.

India has been struggling with misogyny for years, but recently the issue has attracted greater scrutiny with numerous gang rape cases making worldwide news. In one incident this summer that garnered a lot of attention, a lawyer claimed that he’d never “seen a single incident” of a “respected lady” being sexually assaulted. Cases like this have spurred nationwide protests, and All India Bakchod’s video is another example of how the Internet is being used to raise awareness, something it has succeeded in doing since its hard-hitting video has gone viral.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi