Indian actress Sanusha Santhosh recently had a harrowing experience on a train.
The young actress, who started her career when she was only 5, had to fight off an alleged attacker while she was relaxing in her seat. The News Minute reports that Sanusha was riding from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram, and she fell asleep. When she woke up, a man nearby reportedly had his fingers on her lips.
When she realized that this stranger was trying to molest her, she grabbed his hand and twisted it hard.
She alerted the other passengers to what was going on, but almost everyone just ignored her. Only two men came to her aid.
When the train eventually stopped, Sanusha filed a complaint, and Thrissur railway police arrested the accused attacker.
Now, Sanusha is sharing what happened to her in order to bring awareness to the issue of sexual assault in India.
Photos: Instagram / sanusha_sanuuu; Wikimedia / Jorge Làscar
[H/T: Distractify]
CORRECTION: February 5, 2018
Sanusha Santhosh is an Indian actress who started her career as a child, when she was known as "Baby Sanusha."
Her Facebook page explains, "She started her acting career as a child artist in Malayalam films and went on to star in many television serials."
Recently, when Sanusha was traveling by train, she was allegedly harassed by a 40-year-old man.
The accused, Anto Bose, reportedly touched Sanusha while she was sleeping.
Sanusha told The News Minute:
I was sleeping. Suddenly, I felt something touch my lip. When I woke up, I saw this guy lying on the upper berth opposite me, trying to feel my lips. I immediately twisted his hand and switched on the light.
During the incident, though, nobody came to Sanusha's aid.
When I told everyone, nobody seemed to mind. Only two people, writer Unni R and Ranjith, a man from Kozhikode, helped me out. I think people’s protest and outrage begin and end on Facebook. But when you’re confronted with a real-life situation, nobody cares or reacts.
Probably, if I had put up a status on Facebook, there would have been many more people showing support, saying, “I’m with Sanusha” and changing their display pictures.
However, as a woman, I want members of the community to stand up for me at times when such incidents happen, not just later on social media. It is really disheartening, and I have lost faith in the society.
Sanusha got the police involved, because she didn't want the man to get away with what he did.
I was determined that I would resolve the issue only after the police were involved.
Thankfully, I have my family with me for support.
But even if I had to fight this alone, I would go with it because if this inspired a few girls or even one girl in the future to identify harassment and react to it, I would have done some good.
Before any other education is imparted, little girls must be taught to react to bad touch, harassment, or any other unpleasant thing in schools and houses.
It's great that Sanusha stood up for herself and fought back against her attacker. Hopefully, she'll inspire other women and girls to do the same.
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