In this revolution, fighting a battle is Varalakshmi, member of Film Censor Board and also a founder of Heaven Homes Society,NGO against the dangerous use of spy cameras and how women/girls fall prey to invisible predators every year. Her campaign Anti-red-eye India is all about making the sale of spy camera licensed and the act of misusing non-bailable
HYDERABAD: Type ‘spy camera’ on YouTube search bar and all that pops up is loathing and detesting videos of girls in compromising state. In most of the videos uploaded, the girls are not even aware that they were being taped. If repugnance is not the feeling you have at the glance, then boy, you are surely on the wrong track. In a country, where a wink of a girl garners a million views in no time, one need not be baffled that a video of a girl bathing accumulates much more visibility. Those innocent girls die a silent death. Their tears seethe in anger while their privacy is badgered to death. Little do the spy cameras know that they are being misused as murderers. Sadly, only a female minister files a case, the others rest their case. We recently saw a man from Kerala append a spy camera to his footwear so that he can put his feet under the girl’s skirt or saree at public spaces to capture their privates.
She Teams in Hyderabad too caught a man red-handed when he was trying to take inappropriate pictures and videos of women in the metro rail, just a few days after its launch.AR Rahman’s Urvasi Urvasi song in Tamil, which released in 1994 has a stanza, which translates that until women revolt, they won’t get justice. Those lines stand true in 2018 too. In this revolution, fighting a battle is Varalakshmi, member of Film Censor Board and also a founder of Heaven Homes Society, NGO against the dangerous use of spy cameras and how women/ girls fall prey to such invisible predators every year. Her campaign Anti-red-eye India is all about making the sale of spy camera licensed and the act of misusing non-bailable.
“There is more than 20 lakh inappropriate videos on the internet of women and girls in compromising and sensitive situations. The sad part is the girls are not even aware that they are being taped. The owners of the malls and other public spaces should first check before they open it for the public. It is a basic social responsibility. We have filed a plea in the high court to look into the cases, where people were badly affected by these virtual assaults. The court will surely order the DGPs of both the states to look into the reports. We have brought to the notice of the court on how the culprits in abuse of spy cameras are let free with a bail and fine of ` 5,000,” she explains.
Just when you think public spaces are not safe, we get to see a video with one lakh views that has a 55-year-old grandmom changing clothes. “Don’t trust anyone. Sometimes we are not safe in our home too. Ensure you check every place in your house or any bathroom or trail room before changing clothes or having a shower,” she advises.
Varalakshmi started the Anti-red-eye campaign where she is urging everyone to give missed calls 8099259925 approving of their concern towards the cause. We want to submit the public’s concerns and demand the central government to make it mandatory to sell the spy camera with a license and also to not release the culprits with a bail.
Varalakshmi is leaving no stone unturned in going to colleges, enterprises, NGOs to create awareness. Varalakshmi did a comprehensive background research for six months on this issue after a friend of hers informed her about the abuse. “I got cameras, button camera, pinhole camera to experiment and show it at the workshop. Later I had designed the campaign and a documentary on it. Thirty celebrities including actors such as Samantha, Vijay Devarkonda, Mehreen Parizada, Sana have already acknowledged their support for this campaign,” she says with confidence in winning this battle. Shanoor Sana, popular Tollywood actress, says she supports Varalakshmi and her cause and wants to take the fight to national level, for Smriti Irani herself is a victim of the same. “We want to create the awareness and demand the government to stop selling it openly in the market,” she adds.
“We are planning a walk at Necklace Road with 2,000 people showing us solidarity. As part of the campaign, we have also announced a short film contest for Women’s’ Day. The participants of the short film contest should make a video on any of these four themes – cyber crime against women, sexual harassment, misuse of spy camera and women in social media. We want to create awareness with these videos,” she informs.
The last date for submission of the article is March 1 and the best video will win a cash prize on March 8 in Prasads Labs at 5.30 pm followed by a discussion by a panel of women from all walks of life.
purnima@newindianexpress.com@iyer_purnima