Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who was dressed in an austere Sabyasachi ensemble, urged women and men around her to stand tall in the face of street harassment in public spaces. Rai Bachchan, who was welcomed with thunderous applause, spoke about how bystanders mutely watching as a woman being harassed as ‘unacceptable behaviour’. Their apathy and insensitivity to a crime was disturbing. “We simply cannot accept raising our daughters in a world where people witness this absolutely unacceptable behaviour and look away because they do not know what to do,” said Bachchan. The face of cosmetic company L’Oreal Paris also presented grim statistics about how the issue of harassment against women is a widespread problem. Her speech was followed by a training programme at the grounds directed at educating women on how to handle such nasty episodes.
Viren Saklani