India: CFWIJ welcomes journalist Priya Ramani’s acquittal of the defamation case filed by MJ Akbar
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February 17, 2021, New Delhi – Journalist Priya Ramani is acquitted in the defamation case, which was filed by Former Union Minister MJ Akbar, over her allegations of sexual misconduct against the minister. The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes Priya’s acquittal. We stand with women journalists who are not afraid or ashamed to speak up about the sexual harassment they face in the media industry.
Journalist Priya Ramani was found not guilty of the defamation case against her and the court ruled her acquittal from all charges. According to NDTV, the court said about the case, “Women can't be punished for raising instances of sexual abuse,” Referring to the former minister “sexual abuse takes away dignity and self-confidence and right of reputation can't be protected at the cost of the right to dignity,” the court added.
During the trial, Akbar’s lawyers questioned Priya’s intention of revealing the sexual abuse for more than decades, the judge underlined that a woman has the right to file a complaint even after decades.
According to BBC News, journalist Priya Ramani welcomed court rule and said: “sexual harassment at the workplace has got the attention it deserves, despite the fact that it was me, the victim, who had to stand up in court as the accused”.
In 2017, Priya wrote her story to Vogue magazine about how she was invited to her bosses hotel room without mentioning his name. However, after #MeToo Movement spread to the world, she took her Twitter account in October 2018 and exposed the unnamed boss she mentioned in the article was MJ Akbar. Later Priya’s disclosure, 14 women journalists alleged that they were sexually harassed, assaulted and even raped by Akbar.
A week after Priya’s tweet, the former minister filed a criminal defamation case against the journalist. He denied all allegations which came out from the journalist. In a statement, he said the allegations are “false, motivated and baseless”.
The court acquitted journalist Priya Ramani from all the charges and ruled that MJ Akbar’s accusations could not be proved.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the verdict for Priya Ramani. We applaud Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Pandey’s significant order for women’s rights. We call authorities to take this as an example to rule similar decisions and be a voice of women. Many women journalists face such mistreatment far too often, and in many cases, it goes unreported or ignored. Proper measures must be taken and the journalism community to ensure that women journalists are no longer targeted in their line of work.
