The people of Thailand gathers to celebrate Songkran, an annual three-day water festival. The festivity has already stated this year from April 13 and will continue till April 15, 2018. Songkran 2018 is a celebration of Thai New Year when friends and family gather for food and festivities all over Thailand which again culminates a country-wide water fight. The three-day festival is marked by pouring water to symbolise washing away misfortune from the previous year. And every year, at least one survey would indicate that harassment is universal during this festival. Therefore, this year the Thai government suggested officially that women should dress conservatively to avoid sexual harassment. And this has sparked a rebuttal #DontTellMeHowToDress and Twitter has slammed the government with the hashtag on the occasion of Thai New Year 2018.

Cindy Bishop, a Bangkok-based Thai-American model, actress and television celebrity created the hashtag #DontTellMeHowToDress after the government recommended women not to dress appropriately to prevent sex crimes during the water festival of Songkran 2018. Her video on the topic has been viewed more almost 500,00 times (and still counting) on Facebook and Instagram and quoting media reports, the hashtag has created more awareness in Thailand than #MeToo. The 39-year-old was quoted in a BBC report saying, “Songkran is traditionally such a beautiful festival. [But] for a lot of Thai women, it has become dangerous because they know they are going to be taken advantage of.”

Watch video of Water Fight as they celebrate Songkran!

Here is the tweet by Cindy!

As they praise the actress... 

A Bangkok reporter tweeted...

Outfit is not to be blamed!

Songkran is infamous for groping hands during the crowded water fight. Such incidents are addressed by the government but sadly they point the female victims. In every corner of the world, the usual blame has been placed on ‘revealing dresses’ and ‘flesh-baring outfits’ that ‘invite’ unwanted staring and unsolicited hands. But they never ask the men to respect! We hope that with the help of the movement #DontTellMeHowToDress, the beautiful tradition will be back where people can play water games and enjoy Songkran freely without any fear.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 14, 2018 03:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).