Published 07 Mar, 2022 04:13pm

Ushna Shah highlights the need for strangers to respect personal space and she's not wrong

Actor Ushna Shah recently tweeted about an experience she had at a mall where a random woman invaded her personal space, upsetting her enough to ruin her day. We've got to say, personal space is sacred — people should keep a respectable distance from you, especially if they don't know you very well. And yes, this applies to celebrities too — they are also people.

"The aunty at the mall will never know she effectively ruined my day by touching me (my hair, had she touched my face my week would have been ruined)," the actor wrote in a tweet. She then questioned whether the concept of wanting personal space from strangers is so foreign that it enters the realms of badtameezi (impoliteness).

Some netizens agreed with her, talking about the need for boundaries.

But many others strangely called it part of desi culture or a product of fame and the side effect of being a celebrity.

No matter how well known a person may be, it is still not okay to disrespect their boundaries and make them uncomfortable. Sometimes fans don't understand that celebrities are also people who need their space and privacy — they don't owe fans an explanation for wanting their personal space respected it. If fans want a picture or to talk to a celebrity, politely asking for permission is the way to go.

Blaming it on desi culture and the effects of fame just does not cut it. Touching someone without their permission is wrong. Blaming it on our 'culture' is dismissive of both the person whose space is being invaded and every person's right to bodily autonomy. Also, in case people have forgotten — there's still a global pandemic going on.

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