It is no coincidence that this is the very thing Prajwal has been accused of — sexual abuse, and also recording videos of the acts.
What does the world see when it looks at the now-viral image of Prajwal Revanna — scion of a political dynasty, Member of Parliament and rape accused — being led away from Bengaluru airport by a posse of women cops? First, and most obvious, it sees the law taking its course, investigating and acting against a man who has been accused of using his considerable clout to abuse and prey upon multiple women. But there is another message coded into the image — the reversal of a power imbalance in a deeply patriarchal society, where abused women are further silenced by the twin weapons of stigma and shame.
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It is no coincidence that this is the very thing Prajwal has been accused of — sexual abuse, and also recording videos of the acts. While the circulation of the videos is what eventually led to a case being filed against him, it had also ended up adding to the trauma of those Prajwal is alleged to have victimised, compounding the abuse they had allegedly already endured.
Which is why the decision to have an all-women team of police officers arrest Prajwal is so potent. It communicates, as one member of the Karnataka Police’s Special Investigation Team said, “[the] message that women have the authority to put him through legal proceedings for having allegedly misused his power to exploit women.” This is, in other words, the image of woman, not as the eternal victim, but as an agent of justice, and hero. For the Karnataka police to have not only understood the power of such an image in a case like the one against Prajwal, but to have also used it with such deliberation and intent, is heartening.
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