International Women's Day 2021: Has The Status Of Women In Society & Cinema Changed? Bollywood’s Women Speak
Here's what the women of Bollywood feel about the status of women in the industry and also in the society today
We celebrate Women's day today and on this special occasion here's what the ladies from Bollywood have to say about the status of women in our society and also in the entertainment industry.
Shabana Azmi: “India is a country that lives in several centuries simultaneously. And so, it is with the position of women in our society. On one hand, we’ve had a woman prime minister and a woman president. Lots of women in the corporate and political world occupying powerful positions. On the other hand, it is also a sad fact that female foeticide is still being practised in India, not only in the back of the beyond as one would imagine, but in metropolitan cities because the need for a male heir is all-persuasive. But I think there has been a definite shift in the way women are being perceived today, and that is also reflected in our cinema. We are seeing many women on screen projecting the many complexities of our society which we never had before. Earlier, we had the standard heroine Miss Neeta who didn’t even have a surname and never had a job except to look pretty and sing songs with the hero. Today, there are many more women-centric films and that's a healthy sign. However, the objectification and commodification of women still continues. So, there is much left to be desired.”
Divya Dutta: “I do think there are some significant changes happening. In cinema, as an actor, I can say I’ve gone from being a goody goody heroine to playing amazingly layered characters where it’s okay to have all shades, including grey. To even have your vulnerabilities on display along with your strengths…to be accepted as a character. The audience now looks for real characters whom they can relate to, whose strengths and weaknesses they can associate with. Yeh sab cheezen abb acceptable ho gayi hai female characters mein. The kind of roles I’m offered now are so layered, I am amazed! It is a delight to play these characters rather than play the monotonous characters I got to play. We get to see loads of women at work. Even on our movie sets, we see so many women. And that’s heartening. On the other hand, you hear of so many rapes and domestic violence. They remind us we’ve a long way to go. But I am sure we will make it happen.”
Dia Mirza: “The lockdown has reversed the gains made towards women’s equality and rights. 1 in 3 women experienced domestic violence and were locked in with their perpetrators. The ‘status’ of the average Indian women will change only when we find equal representation in all walks of life.”
Taapse Pannu: “A lot! A lot has changed. In the last 10 years, I’ve seen a huge change. And going forward it’s only going to get better. A female perspective has entered our work place. Far from equality right now but there is a good start.”
Manisha Koirala: “Not much change, really, we need to support them a lot more...education and making them financially independent if not there...things can’t change much.”
Meera Chopra: “Over the last two decade, the gender landscape In India has changed, bringing women to the cusp of a powerful social and political revolution. Even though Indian women enjoy constitutional equality with men, deeply entrenched stereotypical norms, illiteracy, and social and economic subjugation thwart their freedom. And for that change to happen we need to get rid of patriarchy. Girl education is very important, but more than that our men need to be more progressive so that they can empower women without any insecurity, only then the status of a woman on whole would be uplifted. Though overall it’s a good start and a welcome change.”
Ahana Kumra: “I think it’s a little hard to gauge how much women have progressed. Because we claim to go a step ahead and then we move back five steps. Of course, women now have choices that they exercise. But there is a lot of disparity between the genders in our day-to-day lives. Agreed we are allowed to choose our own careers and partners. But still it is a very long road ahead until we can hope for equality. There are bad and good days. But at least women are allowed to speak what they feel. Conversation is the only way a society evolves.”
Image source: SpotboyE archive
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