After several alleged videos of women foreign nationals being harassed during Holi celebrations in India went viral on social media, Swati Maliwal, Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) said that she would issue a notice to Delhi police to take action.
"Very distrubing videos getting viral on social media showing sexual harassment with foreign nationals on Holi! I am issuing notice to Delhi Police to examine these videos and arrest the perpetrators! Completely shameful behaviour!" she said.
In one such alleged video, a Japanese woman was being shoved around by a group of men, who were smearing colour on her face and smashing an egg on her head.
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According to reports, the woman has since then deleted the tweet but it has been shared by others on the platform, urging authorities to take action. Bollywood actor Richa Chadha was one of them. However, it was not immediately clear where the video was taken.
Several netizens were quick to point out the irony of such incidents which took place on International Women’s Day, which coincided with Holi celebrations this year. "All the Holi sexual harassment videos are so triggering and what's even more triggering is the attitude of men. They don't even consider it assault. They call this fun. How badly have we raised these men! How badly!" one such user said.
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Earlier, a Bharat Matrimony's advertisement on Holi and International Women's Day courted controversy over religious sentiments. The advertisement shows a woman washing off the different colours from her face and once the colours start to fade, there appear bruises on her skin.
Tweeting the 75-second clip on Twitter, the website originally wrote, "A lot of women have stopped playing Holi due to the trauma they experience through harassment. Watch this video that brings this to life in a hard hitting way. This Holi, let's celebrate Women's Day, and choose to keep them safe everyday. #BeChoosy #Holi #Holi2023 #WomensDay."
