Every day, I am amazed by the speed with which Islamophobia and misogyny surface after any incident associated with a Muslim person or a woman.
Except, the association isn’t mandatory. People find ways to make it about them.
If you have had the misfortune of looking at Twitter trends today, you know what I am talking about. Actor Aamir Khan and his producer wife Kiran Rao, announced divorce with a statement today, and there are no prizes for guessing what happened next.
#LoveJihad started trending in no time, as people blamed Aamir of “manipulating” Hindu women.
This is offensive not just for the actor but also for his former spouses, who are women with brains, and adults who knew what they were doing. Just because their marriage did not work out, it is not someone’s place to assume they were “manipulated”.
Moving on, another conversation is that about actor and Aamir’s co-star from movie Dangal – Fatima Sana Shaikh.
People are either suggesting that she had some role to play in the divorce, or that she is happy now because she can marry Aamir. Both opinions induce endless disgust.
Can we leave people alone, please?