Recently, TMC MP Nusrat Jahan announced that she became a mother. The news came after her separation from her partner last year, and thus, the media wasted no time in badgering her with questions about the father of the baby.
Because even in 2021, the general public and the media still won’t waste a chance to try and shame women for their choices.
Jahan was asked about the identity of the father of the child at a salon opening she attended. Suffice to say, it wasn’t the time or place for a question.
More importantly, there is no time or place where such a question would be deemed appropriate. And while Jahan shut down the reporter, the fact is, she shouldn’t have been asked about the child’s father in the first place.
“I think that’s a vague question to ask and puts a black spot on somebody’s character as a woman, who the father is. The father knows who the father is and we are having a great parenthood together at the moment. Myself and Yash (her partner), we are having a good time.
-Nusrat Jahan
Of course, the gossip mill has been running high ever since Jahan announced her separation from her partner last year, and started dating someone else.
Because how can society not judge a woman who chooses to have a child out of wedlock, right? How can her personal life not be discussed and analyzed in leading newspapers? How can we not reduce her entire existence, to just one fact – who is the father of her child?
The decision to have a child is a highly personal one, and no one, other than the person or couple having the child needs to know about this decision.
An adult woman’s choice to become a mother, even out of wedlock, can not be the topic for a press conference. And yet, time after time we’ve seen people descend like vultures on women, especially those in the public eye.
From Neena Gupta to Nusrat Jahan, Rekha to Rhea Chakraborty, women have constantly been asked to defend themselves against baseless rumors and explain their decisions. Especially women who refuse to ascribe to flawed social norms and live their life on their own terms.
But why? When will the world realize that women don’t owe the world an explanation about their personal lives? The very fact that this is something that still needs to be said, shows just how far behind we are as a society. It’s 2021 and we need to do better!
