Lock Upp: Kangana reveals she was inappropriately touched as a child

Kangana praised Munawar for sharing his experience of facing sexual harassment as a child.

New Delhi: Actress Kangana Ranaut shared that she was touched ‘inappropriately’ as a child on reality show Lock Upp after contestant Munawar Faruqui revealed his secret to save fellow contestant Saisha Shinde. Munawar shared that he was sexually assaulted for four to five years by his relatives as a young child.

Munawar shared, "I was six years old and I was sexually assaulted for several years, till the time that I was an 11-year-old boy. I was sexually assaulted for that time. They were my relatives, two of them and it continued for 4-5 years. I would not understand at the time. It was close family. It went on for 3-4 years and once it got extreme and then they realised they should stop it."

He said that he has still not revealed their identities. “I have never shared this with anyone as I have to face them, and they have to face the family as well. I once felt my dad got to know about it but he scolded me a lot. Perhaps he felt the same, as I did, that this is not something that should come out in the open.”

Kangana praised Munawar for sharing his experience and said despite such things not been spoken about, they are very rampant in society. She also shared her own story of being inappropriately touched as a child.

“So many kids go through this every year but we avoid talking about it on public platforms. All of us go through this, all of us have been inappropriately touched at some point. I have faced this. I was a child and a young boy from our town used to inappropriately touch me. At the time, I did not know what it meant, no matter how protective your family is, all kids go through this,” said Kangana.

She added, “Another point is that you are made to feel guilty for it. This is a huge crisis for kids in our society. To tell them the difference between good and bad touch may not be enough. It becomes such a huge crisis. Kids are psychologically traumatised and scarred for life. They face such endless troubles in life. This guy was three to four years elder than me, perhaps he was exploring his sexuality. He would call us, get us all to strip and check us. We would not understand it at the time. There is a huge stigma behind this, especially for men. It is very brave of you, Munawar, that you chose this platform to share your experience."