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Manasu Mamatha actress Sameera Sherief opens up about childhood abuse
ETimes | January 20, 2026 10:39 PM CST

Telugu actress Sameera Sherief has left the fans and netizens in shock after her revelation about childhood abuse . In a candid conversation with her mother-in-law, veteran actress Sana, Sameera opened up about facing sexual abuse from her neighbour in her young age.


In the video, she narrates the incident of being exploited by an old man, who was her neighbour while growing up in the railway quarters.


'Not spoken out. But it needs to be heard. For the little girl I once was. For every child who didn’t have a voice. This is not a story for sympathy— it’s a truth for awareness,' she wrote, sharing the video on her Instagram account.


"When I was a child living in the railway quarters, a relative of our neighbour—an older man—frequently visited. He would pinch my cheeks, and at that age, I didn't understand his intentions. He used to suggest playing hide-and-seek, which we thought was fun. He would join us and take me to hide on the terrace steps, where fewer people would go. At the time, I just thought it was part of playing with friends. He would kiss me, and though it made me feel uncomfortable, I didn't realise until much later that it wasn't affection, it was abuse," she says in the video.


Further, in the video, the actress also spoke about why she hadn't opened up about this incident over the years.


"If I had told my parents back then, they might have questioned me first. They would have scolded me, asking why I went there to play. That fear kept me quiet." She emphasised that the lack of open dialogue about physical boundaries in previous generations left many children vulnerable and voiceless," she said.