In a video interview, actor-politician Khushbu Sundar has revealed that she faced sexual abuse from her father at the age of eight but could not open about it till the age of 15. She said that the trauma she faced as a child has scarred her for life and she was fighting for others today. The BJP leader, who has been appointed to the National Commission for Women (NCW), spoke about her life story and what she went through as a child.
Recalling her traumatic childhood, Khushbu said, “When a child is abused, it scars them for life; it’s not about whether they’re a boy or a girl. Not many people are able to come out of that.” Talking about her mother’s abusive marriage with her father, she said, “(He was) a man who probably thought it was his birthright to beat up his wife and children, and sexually abuse his only daughter; he thought it was right to do so being a man. When my abuse started, I was just eight years old and I had the courage to speak against him when I was 15.”
When asked about how she took on her father at such a young age, the actress said, “He kept on abusing me by using this one thing — that if I opened my mouth, he would abuse my mother and my other three older brothers more. And that fear sets into you because you don’t want your other family members to be abused because of what you are going through.” Khushbu added and said that she feared her mother wouldn’t believe her and said, “I have seen her in that environment where she had the ‘Kuch bhi hojaye, mera pati devata hai’ (Whatever happens, my husband is my God) mindset.” She added that when she eventually revolted against her father at the age of 15, he abandoned the family and that they “didn’t know where the next meal will come from.”
She added, “I got that courage because I was confident about myself, that I could do it. As a young woman, I thought it was enough and I had to stand up. I am glad I did because had he been a part of my family, I wouldn’t have reached so far nor would I have had the courage to fight all other odds because if I could manage the man at home, I could manage the world easily.”
Khushbu started her career in films as a child artist and later moved on to full-fledged leading roles in a prolific career spanning four decades. She has acted in Hindi films and several other languages but remains a top actress in the Tamil film industry. Her paring with Rajinikanth was especially successful and she made a comeback to films with Annatthe.
(Source: Mojo Story)
