Fight your battles wisely, says Vishakha Singh after taking on Facebook abuser

Vishakha Singh, actor and producer, shot to notoriety recently when she decided to not ignore a lecherous comment directed at her on social media. When she put up a photograph of herself on Facebook, one MD Mustakim Saifi responded with “Nice looking & nice boobs”. Singh saw red and cut him down to size with her own comment, in which she wrote (among other things),“Have the guts to say it on my face?? Else, get off my page.” Soon after, Singh took this post, which had gone viral, offline. “Deleted the post that went viral,” she wrote as explanation. “Not afraid of anyone but simply tired of unwanted negativity. A big thanks to all those who supported.” Currently, in Italy on a work trip, Singh took time out to speak to us about this incident. As a woman celeb, what has been your experience on social media? Being on social media is an occupational hazard. It’s a great way to connect with the audience during film releases and feedback. However, the incessant harassment by a few people can make the experience unpleasant. [caption id=“attachment_2296308” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vishaka Singh. Image from IBN Live.[/caption] How and why did you decide to reply to this particular comment? People assume that I woke up one fine day and just did it. No, I have had such experiences before. My social media team tries and blocks/report and delete such comments. But it’s a mammoth task. This particular person had been sending lewd messages to me in my inbox for a while. However, when he came commented on my wall; especially hiding behind a child’s picture, I decided to reply. It was as simple as that. I have no idea why everyone else decided to get involved. You said that you got negative publicity. I am in Rome currently. Just the fact that I was trending in India was itself a shock to me! The next day I woke up to a picture being circulated that showed my official fan page liking a similar comment earlier. Fortunately my social media team informed me that it was not authentic. We wrote to websites that circulated it and asked if they had proof of the picture’s authenticity. They did not. And hence most took it down. Some even wrote an apology. Why didn’t you take legal action? I believe in conflict resolution. Simple emails were enough to resolve issues with certain websites. But yes, we have sent legal notices to some. Classic Threader community on FB was shut down after being served. We received an apology from them as well. Some others are also being served. Do you think India needs better cyber laws to protect women in particular? Yes, most certainly. Stricter cyber laws and a well defined code of ethics for online media as well. With the Internet, harassment has moved online. How do you think women can tackle this? I am lucky as I come from a privileged background. I have access to good lawyers and have a strong support system. However, for millions of Indian women this may not be the case. They are in survival mode and wish to avoid unnecessary confrontations. This is understandable. Until we reach a point where a stricter law is in place; stay strong, stay safe. And fight your battles wisely.