However, the movie was causing an uproar even before its release with, ‘Boycott Alia Bhatt’ trending on Twitter from people who had no effing clue on what the movie was really about. People who said Badrunissa’s character normalizes domestic violence against men, do you still stick to that?

If you still want to go on a rant about this, let me spill out 11 reasons why we don’t need to imagine genders being swapped in Darlings at all.

1. One in every three women has suffered violence worldwide.

In 2021, WHO released statistics highlighting that every one in three women, globally, has suffered physical and intimate abuse in their lifetime with the majority stemming from intimate partner violence.

2. Domestic violence cases in India increased by 53% between 2001 to 2018.

Most of these cases were filed under ‘cruelty by husbands and his relatives.’ 

And then some guys come and fight for the men’s plight only when somebody is talking about women. Case in point: the rage on Darlings trailer. The movie is about a woman seeking revenge on her perpetrator, but some flagbearers of masculinity and men’s rights made it an issue of a woman being violent against a man. Hence, domestic violence against a man. WTF!

LOL. True.

3. 77% of women stayed silent about suffering sexual violence.

Not just that, 30% of women between 18-49 years had suffered physical violence since the age of 15 years.

Even when women choose to speak up about domestic violence, there are always some men’s rights activists who’re forever ready to retort with their distorted ideas of feminism and the fragile male ego.

4. There was a 26% spike in domestic violence cases during pandemic.

The National Commission For Women (NCW) revealed that the number of total complainants in 2021 rose by over 30% from 2020. The Times of India reported that the complaints fell into three categories: to secure the right to live with dignity, protection from domestic violence, and harassment of married women. 

Rekha Sharma, the present chairperson of NCW, opened up about how pandemic has been a great challenge to women worldwide. 

We receive around 400 calls daily on the helpline including those for information about NCW and get around 10 SOS calls a week seeking emergency help.

5. 83% of married women who’ve experienced sexual violence report their husband as the perpetrator.

Even in the midst of these compelling statistics, our country is yet to criminalize marital rapes. But no, that’s not the crazy part. There are some deeply passionate men who have gone on marriage strikes to protest against criminalizing marital rapes. They think it would jeopardize the moral social fabric of our culture. 

And we’re like, guys, please stick to your strike and never marry. But who would want to take you anyway?

6. In 2020, there were an average of 77 rape cases per day.

Not just that, NCRB also recorded 3,71,503 crimes against women inclusive of cases like abduction, acid attack, cruelty by husband or relatives, dowry deaths, and more.  

7. Indian homemakers took their lives by suicide with an average of one every 25 minutes in 2021.

The number of suicide cases by homemakers is on the rise. 22372 housewives took their own lives in 2020. Experts believe that the prime cause for the same is domestic violence, oppression in marriage, lack of independence, and early pressures of maternity.

8. There was a 110% spike in cybercrime cases against women with cases of publishing sexually explicit content online between 2018 and 2020.

There is no dearth of crimes against women in India, yet somehow, delusions have shadowed many minds. One only has to open social media to see filthy, lewd comments and moral policing on women’s pictures from men who’ve perhaps never ever been touched in their lives.

9. 16 million women and girls are said to have been victims of sex trafficking in India.

Women and minor girls become prey to human sexual exploitation. Acquaintances, partners, and sometimes even parents sell deliberately young daughters to the commercial sex business in exchange for money. 

10. India ranked 148th out of 170 countries in the ‘Women, Peace And Security Index 2021.’

When women talk about issues concerning their safety, it’s not up for debate. There’s a reason why India ranks super low in terms of women safety. Stop spearheading your #mentoo and #NotAllMen agenda each time a woman speaks about her rights. There is a place and time for everything. It’s not a boys versus girls competition in school.

11. India was once called the most dangerous place for women in the world.

This happened in 2018. Not that far ago!

Moral: Stop consuming stuff with selective morality. The movie depicts plight of women who’re the victims of violence in the most compelling way. Stop siding with the perpetrator.