Actor Shweta Tiwari, who recently spoke out against online abuse, questioned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray after identifying one of her trolls as a Marathi person and an MNS supporter.
His profile has beautiful pictures of his wife and child.”Is this what being a Marathi manus has come to mean?
All my life, I have grown up seeing the pride and dignity attached to being a Marathi manus,” she wrote.
She recalled hearing Marathi women proudly identify themselves as Marathi mulgi and said she had grown up believing that Marathi culture respected women's strength and dignity.
Tiwari then directly questioned whether people who identify themselves as Marathi manus should be using abusive language against women online.
Actor Shweta Tiwari, who recently spoke out against online abuse, questioned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray after identifying one of her trolls as a Marathi person and an MNS supporter. In a series of posts on Instagram, the actor called out trolls for using derogatory language against women and said she was disturbed to find that some of those making such comments appeared to come from respectable families.
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She also questioned whether such behaviour was consistent with the pride and dignity associated with being a "Marathi manus."
Tiwari also shared a screenshot of an Instagram profile belonging to one of the trolls who allegedly abused her and pointed out that the man is a doctor and has pictures of his wife and child on his profile.
The 45-year old actor began her posts by addressing the use of the slur against women on social media. She said the abuse is not limited to any particular age, profession or background.
“Today, I want to talk about something that is both deeply concerning and, unfortunately, very common on social media: calling a woman ‘r****.’ Any woman. Of any age. From any profession. Any man, from any background, can come online and call a woman ‘r****,’” she wrote.
The actor said she was particularly disturbed by the fact that some of those using such language are educated and come from families where women are an important part of their lives.
“And what shocks me is that these men are not necessarily uneducated or from troubled backgrounds. Many of them are educated, come from seemingly respectable families, have wives, daughters, mothers and sisters..and yet feel completely comfortable using the most degrading word they can think of for another woman,” Tiwari added.
She then shared a screenshot of one Instagram profile and wrote, “I opened one of the profiles. The man is a doctor. His profile has beautiful pictures of his wife and child.”
Is this what being a Marathi manus has come to mean?
In another post, Tiwari questioned how someone could treat another woman with such disrespect while celebrating the women in their own family.
“And I thought how do you go home to that family after speaking to another woman like this? Apparently, he is also a supporter of Raj Thackeray or his party,” she wrote.
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Tiwari then spoke about her connection with Maharashtra and Marathi culture. She said she had lived in Maharashtra all her life and was born and brought up in Mumbai.
“I have lived in Maharashtra all my life. My father was brought up in Mumbai. I was born and brought up in Mumbai. All my life, I have grown up seeing the pride and dignity attached to being a Marathi manus,” she wrote.
She recalled hearing Marathi women proudly identify themselves as Marathi mulgi and said she had grown up believing that Marathi culture respected women's strength and dignity.
Tiwari then directly questioned whether people who identify themselves as Marathi manus should be using abusive language against women online.
“So when I see people who proudly identify themselves as Marathi manus coming into women's DMs and calling them ‘r****,’ I genuinely have to ask: Is this what being a Marathi manus has come to mean?” she wrote.
Addressing Raj Thackeray, she added, “Raj Thackeray, if people like this are your supporters, then I would genuinely like to know..do you believe this is acceptable behaviour?”
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Tiwari went on to say that identifying as Marathi or expressing love for Maharashtra should also involve respecting women.
“Because speaking Marathi, calling yourself a Marathi manus, or claiming to love Maharashtra is not enough. Respecting women is also part of that identity,” she wrote.
She concluded the post by asking whether the men who abuse women online would accept the same language being directed at the women in their own families.
Tiwari also spoke about the abuse she and other contestants have faced during Instagram Lives. Tagging her The Traitors 2 co-contestant Parul Gulati, she recalled watching an Instagram Live the actor had hosted with contestants from the show.
“Just yesterday, @gulati06 started an Instagram Live with contestants from The Traitors. I was watching the comments, and I saw so many people casually calling us ‘r****.’ I genuinely don't understand how this has become normal,” Tiwari wrote.
She also alleged that some online comments had targeted her children.
“Sometimes, people even talk about me and my eight-year-old son and my daughter in a very, very disturbing way. And when I open their profiles, I see pictures of their wives, daughters and families,” she said.
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Questioning the double standards behind such behaviour, Tiwari added, “They clearly have women in their lives whose dignity they would never tolerate someone else attacking. So what makes it acceptable to disrespect another woman who has absolutely nothing to do with you?”
Through her posts, Tiwari called attention to the normalisation of gendered abuse online and questioned why social media users feel entitled to attack women they do not know personally.
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