‘Rearing up of patriarchy to squash women who dare’: Twitter reacts to Times of India’s #MenToo slug

On May 9, The Times of India published an article about how laws, particularly those dealing with rape, were misused as a tool of vendetta in many break-ups. The article authored by Swati Deshpande and Mohua Das cites several cases against men where rape charges, among others, were quashed by the respective courts.

Citing an April 2017 Delhi HC observation, the piece states: “in a number of cases where both persons, out of their own will and choice, develop a consensual physical relationship, when the relationship breaks due to some reason, the women use the law as a weapon for vengeance and personal vendetta”. It also quoted the judge as saying: “They tend to convert such consensual acts as an incident of rape out of anger and frustration, thereby defeating the very purpose of the provision.”

The piece also quotes a lawyer, Hitesh Jain, as saying: “While each case has to be tested on its facts, false FIRs after promises are broken, appear to outnumber cases where a man may have had ‘mala fide intentions in promising marriage’ from the very beginning.”

Taking after #MeToo, a hashtag that was used the world over when women came forward to share their experiences of sexual harassment and assault, the article introduced a news slug: #MenToo. This has received much criticism on Twitter.