Spending a big chunk of her life in this industry, Anoushey Ashraf often shares the wisdom she’s gathered all these years. Recently, she blasted a man who thought if “they’ve worked together, he could hold her from her waist and call her babe”.
Taking to Twitter, Anoushey wrote: “Just because we worked well on a project together doesn’t mean I’m now ‘babe’ and you can hold me by the waist to take selfies at events. We’re colleagues, NOT friends. Know the difference. Understand the concept of personal space. #rant“
Later, Anoushey hosted a live session in which she opened up about her experience with an old colleague she met in an event where he called her ‘babe’. “Yes we have worked together but why are you calling me babe,” she said.
“The second thing he did was, he put his hands on my waist and said let’s take a picture. Very nicely I put his hand off me and asked why you’re holding me? Do not touch me,” she added.
She further went on to say: “I told that guy that we have a professional relationship, you and I are professional people and we are colleagues, not friends. So you are not allowed to say babe or call me at 2 O’clock in the morning and asking things like send me pics or selfies. No, this is where we draw boundaries. So, when he put his hand on my waist, I knew that touch was not right. The niyyat behind that and not a friendly sort of gesture.”
She requested the boys that: “I just want you to know that the person should be comfortable with you. It can come after time you spend together and long-term friendships.”
She also urged parents to train their children about their “personal space”. She said that she want people to tell their children that no one can touch them and hold them inappropriately even if that person is someone they know.
She said when a man touches a woman, she gets the feeling that with what intention he is touching her. She said same rule applies on children, adults, introverts or even animals.
She urged everyone to speak up whenever their personal space is attacked. “Whenever someone attacks your personal space, say it out loud, just say it,” she concluded.
