Fatima Sana Shaikh recalls harassment incident: “I hit him, he hit me back harder”

Fatima Sana Shaikh, known for her roles in ‘Dangal’ and ‘Ludo’, recently opened up about her personal experiences with harassment during an appearance on ‘The Male Feminist’, a talk show hosted by Hauterrfly.

The actor spoke candidly about how she has been navigating everyday sexism, both in public spaces and in her personal life.

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During the conversation, Fatima Sana Shaikh shared a disturbing incident that left a lasting impact on her.

“There was a time when a man touched me inappropriately,” she recalled. “I reacted instinctively and slapped him. But he hit me back so hard, I fell to the ground.”

Her voice remained steady as she recounted the memory, but the weight of the experience was evident. For Fatima, the incident forced her to rethink how women are expected to handle such situations.

“Imagine the irony,” she said, “someone does something wrong to you, and you’re the one who has to worry about how to react.”

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She admitted that after that day, she became more cautious, more guarded. “It changed me,” she said. “I realised that sometimes even reacting can escalate things. But that’s the unfair part. We’re the ones who have to calculate the risk, even when we’re the victims.”

Fatima also recalled another unsettling encounter during the COVID-19 lockdown when Mumbai streets were nearly empty. While cycling alone, wearing a mask as per the pandemic protocols, she was harassed by a tempo driver.

“He kept honking and making strange noises, following me until I finally turned into my own lane to get away from him,” she shared.

On the professional front, she has been busy with both film and OTT projects. She recently appeared in Anurag Basu’s ‘Metro… In Dino’, a spiritual successor to ‘Life in a… Metro’, where she starred alongside Ali Fazal.

Fatima also featured in ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ opposite R. Madhavan, which premiered on Netflix.