Bollywood actress and Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar has shared a powerful and honest statement on social media, in which she explained how women working in the entertainment industry still have to face deep-rooted misogyny (anti-women mentality).
She spoke about how women’s hard work and success are often linked to male help or a scandal, and how society still feels uncomfortable accepting the success of an independent, beautiful, and talented woman.
Here’s what Manushi wrote,
“A misogynistic mindset finds it easier to attribute a woman’s success to a man’s patronage than her own merit. I’ve always really ignored silly comments which have no consequence in the real world, but I constantly see working women, specially in the entertainment industry being discussed with such disrespect and contempt…
People say
“society often struggles to accept independent, financially successful women, especially those who leverage beauty, fame or talent.”
“certain individuals project their insecurities or frustrations onto celebrities.”
“fake or scandalous content gets more clicks, shares and ad revenue”
“A female in the
entertainment world, is an easy target for such attempts.”
“Rumours about relationships and exploitation spread faster because they feed into voyeurism and tabloid culture”
“Female actors are often objectified and their value reduced to their looks or relationships”
“Sometimes these rumours are strategically placed by others etc etc”
I grew up in an empowered, educated environment where irrespective of gender, we all had equal value to add, where being a good doctor mattered, not being a man or a woman. But I have also been exposed to this mentality of- men are talented and hard working if successful, whereas women opportunists, goldiggers or manipulators..
Have grown up admiring wonderful women doing wonderful things and I give them full credit for it! I have also known wonderful men who’ve never felt insecure of a female presence. So let’s just get this straight I’m a girl who won the world and made her dreams come true. And this comes from me feeling self assured and accomplished, not arrogance, I still have so much to do…
But while I chase what makes sense to my larger scheme of things, I continue to celebrate the value I add, please don’t forget that I’m a financially independent, self made, working woman, and I do take a lot of pride in it I do live my life on my own terms, make friends I can learn from, enjoy the company of people who inspire me and wake up every morning knowing I’m one step ahead without having to prove anything to anyone.
In conclusion, these narratives only reflect a misogynistic mindset’s own biases.
P.S.- dear girls, there is a lot of joy in being independent and it will make a lot of men and women uncomfortable, the easiest thing to do will be to question your character. Ignore it, cause having your own life is worth it! Now going back to my happy bubble”
The thing that resonates the most in this post of Manushi Chillar is that a woman’s success should be linked to her own hard work and ability, and not to the presence or support of a man.
Her words are inspiring for every woman who is moving ahead with her hard work, and who is fulfilling her dreams on her own.
This bold statement of Manushi will definitely empower many women and inspire them to be proud of their self-confidence.
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