Sister Jesme, who recently left the Congregation of Mother of Carmel – an indigenous Religious Congregation has shared her horrific account at a literature festival held in Bengaluru. She talked about an incident in which a priest asked her to strip. She blamed the church of not standing up for their nuns.
She said that after garnering an initial support from her mother, her family abandoned her and her mother. “I could leave because, as a former college principal, I get a pension from the UGC. Most nuns, however, do not have that backing”, sister added. These revelations came out while she was addressing the audience during the panel discussion, ‘Mard Ko Dard Hoga: #MeToo’.
Sister Jesme is an academician from Kerela. She was the Principal at St. Mary’s College, Trichur, before retiring in 2008. After 33 years as a nun, she recently decided to leave the Congregation of Mother Carmelite(CMC).
The recent #MeToo outcry has brought in a dialogue about the issues of sexual abuse that women face in the various walks of life. The horrific account given by Sister Jesme further pushes the cause for stricter implementation of laws relating to workplace harassment.
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