Sunny Leone blamed for rising rape in India after contraceptives ad

Published September 3, 2015
Sunny Leone speaks to the media in Mumbai, India.–Photo by AP
Sunny Leone speaks to the media in Mumbai, India.–Photo by AP

NEW DELHI: A senior leader of Communist Party Of India (CPI) has blamed Bollywood actor and former porn star Sunny Leone and her contraceptives advertisement for the rising rape cases in India, Hindustan Times reported.

Speaking at a rally in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, Atul Kumar Anjan, a senior CPI leader not only blamed the 34 year old Leone for rising rape cases but also of promoting porn in the country.

“Now there is an advertisement with her (Leone), have you seen it? She is lying down...and a man comes to her. (They show the advertisement) in the morning, at night...an advertisement for condoms, it is such a dirty and horrific advertisement that develops your sexuality and destroys your sensibility,” he told a cheering crowd.

Also read: Pemra takes controversial contraceptives commercial off air

“If such advertisements for condoms appear in the country’s TV channels and newspapers, then incidents of rape will increase. It needs to be stopped,” Anjan added.

Related: Leone dragged into rape debate

While blaming Leone for promoting porn in India, Anjan claimed that he had never watched a single porn film in his life but when he did watch porn for the first time, "do minute dekhne ke baad ulti hoti hai (After watching two minutes, I feel like vomiting)."

Backlash against CPI statement

Women's groups slammed the comments as ignorant as a backlash against Anjan spiralled on social media in India.

“Comrade - rape is caused by men's sense of entitlement and lack of concern for women's autonomy and consent. Not by pornography, naked women or any other 'provocation',” women's activist Kavita Krishnan posted on her Facebook page.

The fatal gang-rape of a student on a moving bus in New Delhi in December 2012 sparked a massive public outcry and led to tougher laws for sexual offenders.

But India's politicians have also been accused of trivialising such crimes.

A former chief minister of northern Uttar Pradesh state, Mulayam Singh, triggered outrage during the national election last year over comments about rape in which he said “boys make mistakes” and “boys will be boys”.

The central Madhya Pradesh state government's home minister also said last year that rapes were “sometimes right, sometimes wrong”.

Several politicians have also sought to blame tight jeans, short skirts and other Western influences for the country's rise in rapes, while the head of a village council pointed to chow mein which he claimed led to hormone imbalances among men.

Leone, 34, a porn star turned Bollywood actress, was drawn into a debate in 2013 on whether to ban porn outright in India following a series of brutal rapes.

Opinion

Editorial

Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
Updated 19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

The govt ought to take a direct approach comprising convincing communication with the students and Kyrgyz authorities.
Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...