‘No’ is not just a word, it is a sentence. It does not
need an explanation, the meaning is quite clear, no means no. Whether it is
said by anyone, a girlfriend, a wife, or a sex worker – no means no. This is
the gist of the speech made by lawyer Deepak Sehgall (Amitabh Bachchan) in the
movie ‘Pink.’ Pink is a powerful statement on the existing feudal mindset of a
majority of India, where men and women are judged by a different yardstick.
After watching the movie, we thought how closely this can be related to a
country like Sri Lanka.
If you have not watched the movie so far, we believe
that it is worth watching to look at a prevalent social matter in a different
perspective. The purpose of art to show
the follies in the society with the pure intention of having a better society.
The movie invites the audience to reconsider the measurements used in the
society to judge women in general.
The gist of the story is Three Delhi girls - Minal,
Falak and Andrea are on the run after one of them escapes a molestation attempt
by a, powerful guy, Rajveer. Minal attacks Rajveer with a bottle injuring him
grievously. Then their lives are turned into a living hell by the guys who
malign and intimidate them in every way possible. When the matter comes up in
court with defense lawyer Deepak Sehgall, representing the girls, the film
takes a dramatic turn.
In the court room, Deepak Sehgall introduces five laws
laid by the society to judge the character of women. How far these laws be
applicable to the women in Sri Lankan society? Let’s have a look.
- “Any girl at any time cannot go alone with men. If this is done, it is assumed that the girl has willingly issued license to touch”
- “During night when girls go out on the roads independently, then vehicles slow down and so their windows come down. No one gets this great idea during the day”.
- “Liquor is seen as representing a sign of bad character, only for the girls. For boys it is only a health hazard”.
- “If you are present in Rock show, then it is a hint. If you are in library or temple, then it is not a hint. Venue decides your character”.
- “In urban areas, no girl can live independently. Men can live but not women. Lonely and independent women confuse the men.”
You may probably see that judging the character of a
woman based on pre-set social yardsticks is common in lankan social body -
quite similar to the movie Pink. Though everything upgrades with the time and
technology, these pre-set rules written by whomsoever are hardly change or the
progress of change is relatively slower. It is quite vital to change certain
stereotypes if we need to see the sustainable development we crave for. The
development of a society does not mean the development of physical,
infrastructural development but the development of the quality human. Therefore, it is high time to look at the way
we look at women – diplomatically – as a person born with flesh and bones quite
similar to the men.
Let us be frank and ask the questions ourselves, why
does it hurt the ego of men seeing an independent woman? Should the man always
be the cinematic savior of womanhood? Why do people disgorge a rain of negative
comment on a TikTok video of a woman who tries to draw the attention of an
audience? In Sri Lankan context, if you sit back and think of a handful of
independent, young female characters, if you too feel the discomfort feeling of
looking at their behavior, certainly there must be something wrong in our
thinking pattern which is what the movie Pink tries to make us think. The story
questions: is it because they are women? Or are we still measure them using the
old set of measurements on how a woman should behave in the society etc…etc.
The movie further questions: when a girl exposes her
natural behavior freely quite similar to the way a boy exposes his natural
behavior, does the society treat them even? Further, when the same happens with
lower or lower middle class women vs upper class, wealthy women how would be
the reaction of the people in the society? What would people tell about the
character of the woman in such cases? On
which characters do people unleash negative criticisms on the character using
social media platforms? You will see the answer is quite common, can you see
what the movie tries to show?
The questions raised by the film acquire importance in
contemporary times. It points that the problem lies with the societal attitudes
towards female autonomy and female behavior, which is anti-women and
patriarchal. It is not the restrictions on female autonomy and behavior that is
required but a change in the patriarchal mindsets of men and anti-women
societal attitudes.
How far can you draw parallels with the idea of
judgment related to women to the Sri Lankan society? Don’t you think there must
be a change in our pattern of thinking? Shouldn’t we respect a person’s right
of choice irrespective of their gender? The comment section is open for a wide
discussion. Remember, this post is not to criticize the social norms and
traditions or culture but to think on a different progressive way of our
certain stereotypes. Please share the post if you think this idea is worthy to
be discussed in the society for a progressive movement.
Source: Times of India
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