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In Heartfelt Video Message, Virat Kohli Says He's Ashamed To Be A Part Of Society That Is Unsafe For Women

"Those people have no right to call themselves men."
Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Hundreds of women, out on the streets of Bengaluru, were harassed by a mob of men on New Year's Eve.

While politicians such as Abu Asim Azmi resorted to 'blame-the-victim' attitude and didn't blink an eye before saying things like, "Where there is sugar, ants will follow," many celebrities did stand up to the misogyny and called out the incident for what it was — a telling sign of everything that is wrong with the men in our society.

On Friday, Indian captain Virat Kohli took to Twitter and said that those who watched in silence when women were being molested in Bengaluru have "no right to call themselves men." He also said that he feels ashamed to be a part of such a society.

He said:

"What happened in Bangalore is really really disturbing. To see something like that happening to the girls and for people to watch and not do anything about it is a cowardly act. Those people have no right to call themselves men."

"I would like to ask a question, God forbid, if something like that happened to someone in your family, would you stand and watch or would you help? These things are allowed to happen because people stand there and watch it and they are absolutely fine with it. That's why these things happen to a girl."

"Just because she is wearing short clothes. It's her life and it's her decision, her choice and for men to accept that it is an opportunity to get away doing this and men in power defending it is absolutely horrible."

"The fact that these things are in certain people's heads and is acceptable to a certain degree, it's disturbing and it's shocking and I am ashamed to be a part of that society."

"I think we need to change our thinking, treat men and women in the same way, be respectful, and treat women with some compassion and put yourself in that situation and think what if we were the family members of those girls. How would we feel about it?" he said in conclusion.

Here are the videos the captain uploaded:

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.