I'm a victim of dirty joke culture too, reveals diving queen Pandelela
Published on: Thursday, October 21, 2021
By: Zam Yusa
Kota Kinabalu: Malaysia's diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong has opened up about her experience being a victim of lewd jokes at the workplace, an issue that gripped the nation a few months ago after a student's exposé of rape joke culture at her school.
Speaking out on Twitter, Pandelela said her coach would make the dirty jokes, but she just kept mum or just faked a laugh in fear of the official.
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"Once, I couldn't stand it anymore and pointed it out to the coach, but later I was bullied. Seven years later, the coach was involved in a rape case," she said.
"Most saddening is that the coach created problems in those seven years. But we athletes couldn't do anything, because the coach's big backup was our own head coach.
"Moral of the story, we need a good leader who can right what’s wrong instead of turning a blind eye to evil, and those abused must speak up please! Small voices still matter if we are united."
The Olympic medallist said the athletes are lucky as they are being protected safely by their sport association, who care for them.
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She also advised her Twitter followers to study the personal character of people instead of just looking at their professional achievements.
Pandelela tagged one of her tweets with the hashtag #rapejokeisnotfunny, a social media movement active in Malaysia after the 17-year-old student, Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, said she was a victim of rape jokes allegedly by her teacher.
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