#MeToo: 11 female Bollywood directors, producers decide to boycott proven offenders

As the #MeToo movement in India left a number of Bollywood celebrities getting accused of sexual harassment and misconduct, as many as 11 actresses, female directors and producers have decided not to work with proven offenders.

Konkona Sen, being one among the 11 celebrities to have been a part of the decision, shared the list of the B-Town women who took the step.

The announcement has been made with a statement expressing support for the #MeToo movement.

Below is the statement:

"As women and filmmakers, we come together to support the #MeTooIndia movement. We are in complete solidarity with the women who have come forward with honest accounts of harassment and assault. Our respect and admiration to them as their courage has started a revolution of welcome change.

"We are here to spread awareness to help create a safe and equal atmosphere for all in the workplace. We have also taken a stand to not work with proven offenders. We urge all our peers in the industry to do the same".

The 11 women include Alankita Shrivastava, Gauri Shinde, Kiran Rao, Konkona Sen Sharma, Meghna Gulzar, Nandita Das, Nitya Mehra, Reema Kagti, Ruchi Narain, Shonali Bose and Zoya Akhtar.

Although it is a welcome move from the influential women fraternity from the industry, many on social media are sceptical about the term "proven offenders" used in the statement. Many expressed doubts on the step as generally it takes a very long time for such accusations to get proved in the court of law.