“You are a girl, you can't do this” or “Ohh this is boy’s sport, and you are a girl, it is not your cup of tea”. Such dialogues are very common in India. I am not saying this is prevalent in every household, but yes, it is seen in 6 out of 10 houses.
A girl is asked to keep her dreams at bay and stay focused on cooking, marrying, keeping her husband happy and ultimately give birth to children. When a woman does this, she becomes the perfect woman. She is considered weak in comparison to boys and so, society asks, expects and then orders her to become the 'perfect' woman.
Bollywood director and actor Farhan Akhtar launched a social campaign titled ‘Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya – Enough is Enough’ in March 2013 after a young lawyer Pallavi Puryakastha was murdered in her flat in Wadala. Pallavi was murdered by the building watchman who tried molesting her at her residence and killed her when she resisted her advances. This incident instigated Akhtar to launch the campaign.
Now part of this social campaign, MARD has launched with gender inequality videos with female actors and their fathers, wherein they tried saluting the men who didn't give patriarchy and gender discrimination a chance against their daughters. The campaign is led by the Population Foundation of India and is titled ‘Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya – Enough is Enough’. The first video came out on Father’s Day which had Vidya Balan and her father P R Balan in it.
The second video stars ace tennis player Sania Mirza and her father Imran Mirza which is going viral on Twitter and is in trending.
Many Bollywood celebs congratulated Farhan Akhtar for his videos and took their wishes on Twitter.
Priyanka Chopra
Well done @MardOfficial .@MirzaSania n her dad r amazing examples of challenging patriarchal standards https://t.co/gWBaxmoWal @FarOutAkhtar
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) June 23, 2017
Ritesh Deshmukh
Great initiative by @MardOfficial @FarOutAkhtar story of @MirzaSania 's father,Just what ???????? needs #BasAbBahutHoGaya https://t.co/R5oXJQbQu2
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) June 23, 2017
Aalia Bhatt
A beautiful and powerful example of the kind of thinking we should adopt! A must watch!!! https://twitter.com/hashtag/BasAbBahutHoGaya?src=hash">#BasAbBahutHoGaya https://twitter.com/MirzaSania">@MirzaSania https://twitter.com/FarOutAkhtar">@FarOutAkhtar
— Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) https://twitter.com/aliaa08/status/878177330119688192">June 23, 2017
Avinash Gowariker
Truly a role model of a father! And the daughter is an inspiration to millions!????????
— Avinash Gowariker (@avigowariker) June 23, 2017
@MirzaSania ????https://t.co/z7Z2Zyzut8#BasAbBahutHoGaya
Farah Khan
A short film by #mard on @MirzaSania n a truly inspirational man who i adore.. her father Imran Mirza.. so proud https://t.co/RLEC5HctUy
— Farah Khan (@TheFarahKhan) June 23, 2017
Farhan Akhtar
GAME:SET:MATCH to @mirzasania & her dad who said #BasAbBahutHoGaya to sports is just for boys!
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) June 23, 2017
????https://t.co/Rav9EVc42t @pfi3 @mardofficial
.https://twitter.com/MirzaSania">@MirzaSania was the No.1 doubles player in the world & yet so many just talked about her skirt. https://twitter.com/hashtag/BasAbBahutHoGaya?src=hash">#BasAbBahutHoGaya https://t.co/vAZmthSt4s">pic.twitter.com/vAZmthSt4s
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) https://twitter.com/FarOutAkhtar/status/877786388917239809">June 22, 2017
Along with Bollywood celebs, netizens too showed the love and supported the cause on Twitter.
"The women are not a garment u wear and undress however u like, they r Honored and have their Rights" (Umar Bin Khattab) #BasAbBahutHoGaya
— Sanah Shoaib (@NinjabiSanah) June 23, 2017
I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men; they are far superior and always have been.
— Rai ka Pahad (@RaiiKaPahad) June 23, 2017
—William Golding #BasAbBahutHoGaya
Girls have every right so it’s time to say No to Gender discrimination #BasAbBahutHoGaya @pfi3 @MardOfficial https://t.co/R5SlROOthM
— SANJAY BAFNA (@sanjaybafna) June 23, 2017
Like boys we also have the right to freedom nd don't difference between us on d basis of gender.
— Shraddha Khare???????????? (@imShraddhaK) June 23, 2017
It's horrible. ????????
#BasAbBahutHoGaya ????????????????????
Apart from these celeb videos, there is also a filmmaking competition which is open to college students. “Violence Against Women and Girls is a shameful violation of human rights that our nation should not and must not condone. I call upon our youth to participate in ‘Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya’ campaign and create a new age of dialogue on the subject of gender violence,” Farhan had said in a statement while speaking to media. He added, “I hope such student solidarity will grasp the attention of our nation and its leaders. I am very keen to understand how our youth are going to interpret the subject in the films they make. I implore the leaders of tomorrow to be the change today and proactively participate in this campaign,”. Indian theatre and film director Feroz Abbas Khan has partnered with Farhan for the same.
Share
Tweet
