The Silence Breakers

When President Trump tweeted that he'd not accept being Time (magazine) Person of the year 2017, I was riled as I always am with the POTUS and his unbridled fingers and red face. I thought to myself, 'why would Time make such an awful person Person of The year'. Then I remembered Hitler was on there sometimes in the past so Person of the year doesn't always have to be people that have done great things. Idiots and immature old men could be too.

For this year's #POTY I was rooting for The Dreamers-- thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were children who faced uncertain futures if the Trump Administration follows through on plans to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Maybe because I have family and friends in the US who would be affected or simply because I empathised with the families: their fear of separation, displacement and disruption of their lives as they knew it. Had they been named #Personoftheyear , it would have gone a great deal in putting an end to the threat that they faced.

But then, I was not disappointed when the magazine named the #metoo movement dubbed THE SILENCE BREAKERS as 2017 #personoftheyear. When I read Allysa Milano's tweet calling for women who had been sexually abused at work to reply with the hashtag #metoo , I just assumed only a few would respond given the stigma associated with disclosing abuse. Was I wrong??? Oh yeah!

Actors, Musicians and women from various fields came forward. So many named their abusers... One man Harvey Weinstein had abused so many woman in a span of about 30 years. The #Silence Breakers brought about a revolution and over 100 men were mentioned by their victims.

This is a big deal! Now, women all over the world can be certain that they'd be treated with dignity on the work place (yeah I know its quite ambitious but then a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step).

Here's to breaking patriarchal glasses all over the world and breaking the silence too!