Actor-turned-politician Kushboo Sundar, who recently took charge as a member of National Commission for Women, revealed that she was 8-years-old when she was sexually and physically abused by her father.In an interaction with Barkha Dutt for Mojo Story, Khushbu said, “I think when a child is abused, it scars the child for life and it’s not about a girl or a boy. My mother has been through the most abusive marriage. A man who probably thought it was his birthright to beat up his wife, beat up his children, sexually abuse his only daughter. When my abuse started I was just 8 years old and I had the courage to speak against him when I was 15.”
She said that there came a point where she had to take a stand and added that the fear of other family members getting abused kept her mouth shut for years. She added at the We The Women event, “One fear that stayed with me was my mom may not believe me because I have seen her in that environment where there was ‘kuch bhi hojaye mera pati devata hai’ mindset. But at 15 I thought that it was enough and I started revolting against him. I was not even 16 and he left us with whatever we had and we didn’t know where the next meal will come from.” Sundar said that while she had a hard childhood, she eventually got the courage and conference fight back. The actor, who started her career with the Bollywood film The Burning Train, became a popular face in the South Indian film industry. She later joined politics in 2010. Khushbu Sundar is an actor, film producer, and television presenter. She had joined the DMK initially but moved to Congress later and became the party's spokesperson. She eventually shifted to the BJP and contested the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls but was defeated by DMK's N Ezhilan.