Eloquence that brings sex abusers to book
PADMA LAKSHMI has spoken out about an alleged rape when she was 16 years old.
‘Some say a man shouldn’t pay a price for an act he committed as a teenager. But the woman pays the price for the rest of her life, and so do the people who love her,’ Padma, 48, wrote in the New York Times.
The ex-wife of novelist Salman Rushdie said she blamed herself for the assault. In the chorus of frenzied #MeToo allegations — many from women whose testimonies cast doubt on the exact nature of their relationships with powerful men (although I am not including U.S. Supreme Court row witness Christine Blasey Ford) — Padma’s story reminds us of the terrible wrongs that are done to young women.
She explains clearly, without self-pity or vengeance, about the secret guilt she suffered and her ongoing emotional issues.
Padma said she’s speaking out now not because she wants to punish her attacker, but ‘ because I want us all to fight so our daughters never know this fear and shame and our sons know that . . . abuse has grave consequences.’
Bravo Padma, for a timely reminder of what is really important.