Sreelakshmi Satheesh, the CEO of an educational set-up based out of Kerala, woke up to every woman’s nightmare when she started getting incessant phone calls from strange men asking her for her “rates”. A quick investigation gave her the answer that one of her acquaintances had posted her number on a WhatsApp group and had called her an “item”. Once she reached the bottom of the matter, she tracked down the perpetrator and made him pay Rs. 25,000 to a charity of her choice.
Sreelakshmi recounted her tale in a now-viral Facebook post written in Malayalam. She wrote that she was shocked and sickened after receiving multiple calls from unknown numbers of men soliciting her services. They all thought she was a prostitute.
PHOTO SOURCE: FACEBOOK
She finally took matters in her hands and called one of the men asking him the truth about how her number had been disseminated so widely.
Her disgust was further exasperated when she found out that not only was the original perpetrator someone she knew personally, but he was also a well-respected member of a political party. While she wanted to go to the police and file a complaint, his elderly father and the party officials dissuaded her from doing so. She also wrote that she was a little apprehensive about filing a case because the man in question is a politician and she was concerned about her safety.
So Sreelakshmi came up with another solution — she had the political party throw the man out of his job and also made him pay a sum of Rs 25,000 to a charity. He had to give her a receipt as proof.
PHOTO SOURCE: FACEBOOK
Her post has been shared over 1,000 times on Facebook and many women and girls are seeking her advice on handling online abuse. But one thing is for certain — nearly everyone is commending this woman for showing grace while under fire.
