NCW summons Salman on July 8

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 30

Condemning Salman Khan’s “raped woman” remark and dissatisfied with his response to a written notice, the National Commission for Women (NCW) today summoned the filmstar to appear before it in person on July 8 in Delhi.

The commission also warned the 50-year-old actor that if he failed to appear before the panel, it might proceed to take action as it deemed fit.

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The NCW had demanded an apology from the actor for saying that he felt like “a raped woman” after the physical effort he put into wrestling scenes for his upcoming film “Sultan”. The film is scheduled to release on July 6.

“Your remark is highly defamatory of women as a whole as rape/sexual assault is one of the most traumatic acts of violence against women. Any voluntary activity such as you were involved in cannot be compared to ‘rape’. Rape is an act of violence which violates the bodily integrity and dignity of women,” said the letter sent by the commission to the actor today.

Stating that such remarks only further desensitised people to the plight of raped women, the letter said: “The explanation offered by you, after making such an insensitive and callous statement, that your voice goes on to say ‘I don’t think I should have said that…’ also does not amount to an apology. Your reply is, therefore, not satisfactory.”

NCW Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said: "The letter Salman sent to us through his lawyer is not at all conciliatory and did not even have a hint of an apology. There has been no retraction either...It is important to drive home the point that just because you are a celebrity you can't make off-the-cuff remarks. The comment he made is very injurious to the esteem of a woman."

The NCW notice was issued after Salman during a media interaction had said that his gruelling workout for "Sultan" left him feeling like a 'raped woman', a remark which evoked a sharp reaction from activists and others.

While Salim Khan, Salman's father, apologised on behalf of his son after the strong reactions, the actor himself has not apologised.