Celina Jaitly says a man showed her ‘private parts’ when she was in grade 6 and was told it was her fault

As the nation mourns the rape and murder of the postgraduate doctor in Kolkata, several Bollywood stars including Alia Bhatt, Vijay Varma and more have condemned the heinous crime. Actress Celina Jaitly joined the chorus and shared incidents of sexual abuse from her childhood. She said that “the victim is always to blame”, the association said.

Celina shared a photo on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) from when she was in grade 6 and said that the catcalling started at the same time. However, she said that the bystanders did not notice and that her teacher told her that it happened to her because she was “too westernized”.

She also said it was the same age that a man first showed her his genitals.

“THE VICTIM IS ALWAYS BLAMED: In this photo, I was in 6th grade when boys from a nearby university started waiting outside my school. They followed the school rickshaw that whistled all the way home every day. I pretended not to see them and a few days later they started throwing stones at me in the middle of the road to get my attention. No one batted an eyelid. A teacher told me: It was because I was “too westernized and didn’t wear loose clothing and didn’t tie my hair in two braids with oil, it was my fault!”, Celina’s post reads.

“It was also at this age that a man first showed me his genitals while waiting for the school rickshaw in the morning. For years I blamed myself for this incident, keeping it to myself and repeating the teacher’s words over and over in my head that it was MY FAULT!” it added.

Celina remembers that in the 11th grade they cut the brake cables on her scooter, “because I didn’t ignore the boys from university who called me names, called me foul names and left indecent notes on my scooter”.

The actress said her male classmates were afraid of her and told the teachers, but the class teacher called Celina and said: “You come across as a PROGRESSIVE type of girl, riding a scooter and wearing jeans to extra classes with short, loose hair, that’s why boys think you have a loose character.”

“It was always my fault. I still remember the day I jumped off my scooter to save myself because my brake cables were cut. I was seriously injured and yet it was my fault. My scooter was damaged… I was hurt both physically and mentally… And I was told it was MY FAULT!” she wrote.

THE VICTIM IS ALWAYS BLAMED: In this photo, I was in 6th grade when boys from a nearby college started waiting outside my school. They followed the school rickshaw and made whistling sounds every day. I pretended not to see them and a few days later, because of… photo.twitter.com/cIrJmiDbQt

— Celina Jaitly (@CelinaJaitly) August 17, 2024

Celina said that her retired grandfather, a colonel who had fought in two wars for our country, had to escort her back and forth to school in his old age.

“I still remember those rude boys who chased me and even destroyed my scooter. They also made derogatory remarks towards my retired grandfather, the colonel, and laughed at him,” she said.

She added: “Nana stood and stared at them and then he turned and shook his head and I could read his face as he walked away with me. His disgust for the people he was risking his life for.”

“It is time to stand up and ask for protection of our right. WE ARE NOT GUILTY!”