BJP leader and former actor Khushbu Sundar recently opened up about facing sexual abuse by her father as a child. Khushbu, who was recently nominated as a member of National Commission for Women, spoke about her experience of domestic abuse as a child, revealing how her abuse started when she was only 8 years old.
In a video uploaded on YouTube channel Mojo Story, the BJP national executive committee member said, “Toughest time which took me long… not forget, not forgive… but to put it behind me and move forward was the abuse I faced by my father as a child. When a child is abused, it scars the child for life. And it’s not about a girl or a boy, any child for that matter. Not many people are able to come out of that.”
Asked how old she was when she faced abuse and that even her mother had faced abuse, Khushbu said, “My mother had the most abusive marriage. A man who thought it was his birthright to beat up his wife, beat up his children, sexually abuse his only daughter. He thought being a man it was his right to do so. And when my abuse started I was just 8-years-old and I had the courage to speak against him when I was 15.”
“I think I reached an age where I had to stand up against him, because he kept on abusing me. If I would open my mouth, he would abuse my mother and three elder brothers more. That fear sets into you that you don’t want your family members to be abused because of what you are going through. A fear that stayed with me was, probably my mother may not believe me, because I’ve seen her in that environment, where ‘Mera pati Devta hai’, kind of mindset. At 15, I thought it was enough and started revolting, rebelling against him. I was not even 16 when he left us with whatever we had, not knowing where our next food would come from,” she added.
After a long stint as an actor, Khushbu Sundar had entered politics in 2010 with DMK. She joined Congress after four years with DMK. After six years with Congress, she joined BJP in 2020.
“I have not made a startling statement. I think that was an honesty which I have come out with. I am not ashamed of what I have said because this has happened to me and I think the perpetrator needs to be ashamed for what he has done,” the BJP leader told ANI when asked about her statement about being sexually abused by her father at the age of eight.
Khushbu further said that with her revelation she wants women to speak about what has happened to them.
“I think I need to send the message across that you have to be strong and take control of yourself and not let anything bring you down or think that this is the end of the road. If I have taken so many years to speak about it, I think women need to speak about it and tell them this has happened to me and I will continue my journey, no matter what,” she added.
