Ashley Judd Reveals She Was 'Molested At 7, Raped At 14'

January 31, 2017

Mumbai, Jan 31: Two hundred and fifty key voices in the global movement to abolish prostitution systems gathered for a World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Women and Girls in the National Capital on Monday, January 30.

Ashley

American actor and activist Ashley Judd, survivor and author Rachel Moran, and Political leader from Chhattisgarh Soni Sori were present at the event, among others.

Actor and activist Ashley Judd spoke against gender discrimination and her own experiences of dealing with sexual assault at the event. The actor, who is India for the next few days, opened up about being a victim of assault as a child.

Judd's visit comes just days after her recital of Nasty Woman at the Women's March held across the United States on Donald Trump's first day of presidency made headlines.

Addressing the media and delegates of the Congress, the actor said the US has a long way to go for gender equality and even opened up about her personal experience.

"I was molested when I was seven years old. I was raped at 14, and then I was raped in 1998. It's a miracle that I wasn't trafficked," she said.

Judd added that there are severe flaws in law on violence against women across the world, and the move for the abolition of trafficking would end harassment. "If us as survivors can come together, we can create change. The onus of the crime should only go to the perpetrator. And laws should give women and girls exit strategies to get out of trafficking," she said.

At the end of her five-minute speech, she spoke in Hindi and urged everyone to rise against sexual exploitation, and decriminalising of prostituted women and girls. "Ab samjhauta nahi," said Judd.

Hollywood has often been accused of discriminating against women, like every other entertainment industry around the world. Ashley shared, "There is a big pay gap in Hollywood, because of gender discrimination, and my life time earnings are 40 per cent less than what I should have earned, had there been pay equality in the industry."

The Congress was organised by Apne Aap Women Worldwide and CAP International, and had representatives from over 30 countries. "We want to fight the injustices that the last girl is subjected to. The last girl who gets into prostitution because of poverty, her gender or her caste. African Americans in the US, Indigenous in Australia and Canada, a refugee in Africa and Europe, all those who are preyed upon by traffickers," said Ruchir Gupta, founder, Apne Aap.

The Congress was held at a time when a new Trafficking Bill is going to be introduced in the parliament. The group is demanding provisions for prevention of trafficking through budget allocations for investment in housing, food and education for girls at risk.

Women's groups in India, however, have objected to the event. An open letter to the delegates signed by SANGRAM--a culmination of nine groups--have slammed the event in a letter. The letter points out: "Organisations like the Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution International (CAP Int'l) persist in erroneously viewing all women in sex work as victims of trafficking and violence denying them the very right to call themselves workers."

Judd later took to social media to share her experience of being in India. She posted a picture of herself wearing a garland with Javed Akhtar, even though she erroneously spelt his name as 'Jared' Akhtar.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

New Delhi, Jan 11: The Delhi High Court on Saturday restrained from releasing Deepika Padukone-starrer 'Chhapaak' movie without due credits to the lawyer who represented the acid attack survivor, Lakshmi Agarwal, in her legal battle.

The restraint will be effective from January 15 in multiplexes and live streaming and for others from January 17.

The court directed filmmaker Meghna Gulzar to give due credit to lawyer Aparna Bhat who fought the criminal case for the acid survivor on whose life the movie is based.

It passed the order on a petition filed by Fox Studio challenging a trial court order which had directed the filmmakers to give credit to Bhat.

Delhi's Patiala House Court had earlier this week passed an order granting an ex-parte interim mandatory injunction directed that the filmmaker has to carry a line "Aparna Bhat continues to fight cases of sexual and physical violence against women" during the screening of the film.

Fox Studios then requested the Delhi High Court to set aside the trial court order.

The petitioner submitted that if the order passed in a suit filed just one day before the release of the film, is not vacated, varied or modified, then the petitioner will suffer grave injustice and irreparable harm and injury.

The movie, which hit the cinemas yesterday, is based on Laxmi's life. In 2005, at the age of 15, she was allegedly attacked by a spurned lover.

Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she started helping other acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such gruesome attacks.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Feb 10: Bong Joon-ho’s film “Parasite” starts in a dingy, half-basement apartment with a family of four barely able to scratch out a life. There must be no place to go but up, right? Yes and no. There’s nothing predictable when the South Korean director is on his game.

This dark, socially conscious film about the intertwining of two families is an intricately plotted, adult thriller. We can go up, for sure, but Bong can also take us deeper down. There’s always an extra floor somewhere in this masterpiece.

It tells the story of the impoverished four-person Kim family who, one by one, and with careful and devious planning, all get employed by the four-person affluent Park family — as a tutor, an art teacher, a driver and a housekeeper. They are imposters stunned by the way wealth can make things easier: “Money is an iron. It smooths out all the creases,” says the Park patriarch with wonder.

Bong, who directed and wrote the story for “Parasite,” has picked his title carefully, of course. Naturally, he’s alluding to the sycophantic relationship by a clan of scammers to the clueless rich who have unwittingly opened the doors of their home on a hill. But it’s not that simple. The rich family seem incapable of doing anything — from dishes to sex — without help. Who’s scamming who?

Bong’s previous films play with film genres and never hide their social commentary — think of the environmentalist pig-caper “Okja” and the dystopian sci-fi global warming scream “Snowpiercer.” But this time, Bong’s canvas is a thousand times smaller and his focus light-years more intense. There are no CGI train chases on mountains or car chases through cities. (There is also, thankfully, 100% less Tilda Swinton, a frequent, over-the-top Bong collaborator.

The two Korean families first make contact when a friend of the Kim’s son asks him to take over English lessons for the Park daughter. Soon the son (a dreamy Choi Woo-sik) convinces them to hire his sister (the excellent Park So-dam) as an art teacher, but doesn’t reveal it’s his sis. She forges her diploma and spews arty nonsense she learned on the internet, impressing the polite but firm Park matriarch (a superb Jo Yeo-jeong.)

The Park’s regular chauffer is soon let go and replaced by the Kim patriarch (a steely Lee Sun-kyun). Ditto the housemaid, who is dumped in favor of the Kims’ mother (a feisty Jang Hye-jin.) All eight people seem happy with the new arrangement until Bong reveals a twist: There are more parasites than you imagined. The clean, impeccably furnished Park home will have some blood splashing about.

Bong’s trademark slapstick is still here but the rough edges of his often too-loud lessons are shaved down nicely and his actors step forward. “Keep it focused,” the Kim’s son counsels his father at one point. Bong has followed that advice.

There are typically dazzling Bong touches throughout. Just look for all the insect references — stink bugs at the beginning to flies at the end, and a preoccupation with odor across the frames. And there’s a scene in which the rich matriarch skillfully winds noodles in a bowl while, in another room, duct tape is being wrapped around a victim and classical music plays.

Bong could have been more strident in his social critique but hasn’t. There are no villains in “Parasite” — and also no heroes. Both families are forever broken after chafing against each other, a bleak message about the classes ever really co-existing (Take that, “Downton Abbey”).

“Parasite” is a worthy winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the first South Korean movie to win the prestigious top prize. The director has called it an “unstoppably fierce tragicomedy.” We just call it brilliant.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Washington D.C., Jun 7: South Korean pop band BTS and their record label Big Hit Entertainment have donated USD one million to support Black Lives Matter.

According to Variety, the donation was transferred earlier this week, with Black Lives Matter confirming receipt to the label on Friday.

"Black people all over the world are in pain at this moment from the trauma of centuries of oppression. We are moved by the generosity of BTS and allies all over the world who stand in solidarity in the fight for Black lives," the outlet quoted Kailee Scales, managing director for Black Lives Matter as saying.

The widely lauded band, earlier on Wednesday, took to Twitter to show their solidarity with the people fighting against the social injustice.

"We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together," the tweet read.

The pledge of the donation from the Korean boy band and its label comes during a time when people and celebrities from the industry have come forward to demonstrate their support for the black community.

Several big names from the music and acting industry also observed 'Blackout Tuesday' earlier the week as a message of solidarity in response o the death of George Floyd, an African-American man in the United States.

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