MUMBAI - Following in the footsteps of its Western counterparts, Bollywood has been encouraging women to speak up against any sexual misconduct as well. Just recently, actress Kangana Ranaut opened up about being a victim to harassment and how it is the skepticism of society that stops victims from coming out with their experiences in the open.

Now, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar have expressed their views on the matter as well, reported The Indian Express.

In an interview with Business Insider, Kumar said sexual misconduct is “everywhere” and that the allegations against entertainment stars in the US may encourage other women around the world to speak up. “It’s just that when [sexual misconduct] happens in Hollywood, it comes out so big. Everybody knows about it, but it’s everywhere,” he said.

His wife Twinkle Khanna added that women are fed up of being mistreated and hence, are voicing themselves. “It’s an outreach that’s been suppressed for very long,” she stated. “Women are tired of being grabbed and groped. Women are tired of bending over backwards to get ahead in the workforce, bending over backwards to the point where sometimes they have to lie horizontal in order to go forward.”

Khan said that women should be lauded for coming out so bravely. “We should not just let it be about, ‘Oh this man behaved like this’ and ‘This is so shocking,’ or all of that. We should respect the emotion of the women taking such a strong step in coming out, and being so brave, and help stop this from happening in our individual industries,” explained the actor, who accepted that he is a successful man in a patriarchal system. “The sad part of it is that you don’t know if it could be happening right under your nose.” - Agencies