Padma Lakshmi, an Indian-American supermodel, has alleged that she was raped by her boyfriend at the age of 16, saying she wanted to bring out this secret in the wake of allegations of sexual assault on US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Lakshmi, the former wife of author Salman Rushdie, explained in an article that she kept quiet for 32 years as she feared that fingers would be pointed at her for bringing it upon herself.
Lakshmi said in the article that she was raped on New Year’s Eve, just few months after she started dating her boyfriend. She said that this happened while she was working at a mall as a part time sales person and she was charmed by a fellow salesman who was 23. She started dating him soon after and did not suspect anything. She then came one night late from a party with him and he raped her in her sleep. She could not help but get all shaken up as she did not get any support from her family too. Another incident happened way early in her life. She was 7 and was sent to stay with her grandparents in India. An uncle behaved inappropriately with her and again she was hushed up.
“Now, 32 years after my rape, I have nothing to gain by talking about this. But we all have a lot to lose if we put a time limit on telling the truth about sexual assault and if we hold on to the codes of silence that for generations have allowed men to hurt women with impunity," she said.
