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Depiction of women in Indian television needs a rethink
Despite the advent of a plethora of entertainment options (Internet, computers, mobile entertainment, video games, digital devices etc.), watching television for a daily dose of entertainment is still a pretty important part of our lives. We spend the third largest chunk of time watching television (after working and sleeping) in our daily routine. What we watch on television therefore has an influence on us as individuals and on the society collectively as well. That is the reason advertisers still spend the highest share of their marketing budget on television.
I have been physically away from India for over two years, mostly insulated from Indian television. For the past 4 months however, I have been watching popular Indian soap operas as first my mother-in-law and then my mother visited me during the summer. While my wife, out of her gregarious nature, continues to enjoy the fun side of Indian soaps largely ignoring any effects they may have on the society, I because of my observant, analytical and critical nature struggle to see any fun in them and my contempt for Indian soaps continues to grow. I believe most, if not all, of whats served on Indian television degrades women and this degradation goes on without much notice.
Consider, for example, the most popular of ongoing soaps, Diya Aur Baati Hum. In this folksy tale of a Halwai (confectioner) family based in Pushkar, we meet a woman who was once highly ambitious, aspiring to become an IPS officer to serve India. She is the pride of her town, topping all exams. She is projected as being capable of easily clearing the extremely demanding IPS recruitment tests. But she is married off to an uneducated man who runs a small sweets shop in a hastily arranged marriage. Her mother in law is a largely uneducated woman who has devoted her entire life to raise a family. Over the years, she has grown to expect women to marry, serve their families devotedly, produce children and learn to be happy with this arrangement. It is therefore no surprise that she is treated more like a full-time domestic help than a family member. Of course she was married into this family under a lie promulgated by her very own brother who chose to crush his sisters aspirations to pursue his own.
In an India where we need role models to stop female infanticide and put an end to the injustices that many women have to go through every day, one would have expected the writer to let a once IPS-aspirant to rebel, break off a marriage organised under a blatant lie, follow her dreams independently, become an IPS officer and show her brother and the society how she, in modern India, would not compromise with her dreams just because she happens to be a woman with a ridiculously selfish brother. What we get however, is the exact opposite of this. This intelligent, educated and aggressive woman bends over backwards to become a good domestic help by tolerating all of her mother-in-laws tantrums (mostly insults) and learning all the daily chores doing dishes, washing clothes, cooking food, helping her husband in the sweet shop, and of course unravelling the hidden agendas of other family members. She forgives her brother, telling him she has realised the importance of family over individual aspirations in this hopeless marriage.
If you are a viewer (sufferer) of Indian soaps, you know this is not the only soap that shows the purpose of a womans life as being the raising of a family, taking care of domestic chores and continuing to fight for her place and respect in the family. Balika Vadhu, Love Marriage ya Arrange Marriage, Saathiya Saath Nibhana, Pavitra Rishta, Ek Doosre Se Karte Hain Pyaar the list of popular soaps that shamelessly depict women in such a light can go on and on.
I would have had no issues with this kind of storyline in India of 1950s. But we are talking about India of the 21st century where female participation in the work force is on the rise, womens graduation rates are improving, many of our chief ministers and national politicians are women and female athletes making India proud. I have not come across one soap that shows women as self-confident, independent and not afraid to fight prejudices and breaking the glass ceiling.
Television, to me, serves two purposes in addition to entertaining us it shows a mirror to the society for what it is and projects what a society collectively aspires to be based on the outlook and aspirations of its audience. If the current crop of entertainment is any indication, our society remains predominantly antiquated as far as role of women is concerned and the outlook does not look any better.
Just to ensure I do not appear to be a self-proclaimed know it all hyper-critical of everything that is India NRI, let me make it clear that television on this side of the world is equally degrading. Women are objectified for men to be admired, enjoyed or despised in most of the television series. Even a character like Ally Mcbeal could not overcome such an objectification. I do not proclaim to be a feminist. But I do however hope to see characters like Peggy Olson of Mad Men and Mary Richards of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Indian television.
I hope to see a show on Indian television that shows an attractive, single, heterosexual woman choosing career over marriage, making it on her own and promoting individualism that fights the broader cultural and systemic problems of gender discrimination affecting all women. Till such a show hits Indian TV, I am going to take the South Asian package off my cable as soon as my mom takes her fight back to India and go back to watching satirical geniuses like Jon Stewart, live sports entertainment and repeat telecasts of sitcoms like the Big Bang Theory and Seinfeld.
Despite the advent of a plethora of entertainment options (Internet, computers, mobile entertainment, video games, digital devices etc.), watching television for a daily dose of entertainment is still a pretty important part of our lives. We spend the third largest chunk of time watching television (after working and sleeping) in our daily routine. What we watch on television therefore has an influence on us as individuals and on the society collectively as well. That is the reason advertisers still spend the highest share of their marketing budget on television.
I have been physically away from India for over two years, mostly insulated from Indian television. For the past 4 months however, I have been watching popular Indian soap operas as first my mother-in-law and then my mother visited me during the summer. While my wife, out of her gregarious nature, continues to enjoy the fun side of Indian soaps largely ignoring any effects they may have on the society, I because of my observant, analytical and critical nature struggle to see any fun in them and my contempt for Indian soaps continues to grow. I believe most, if not all, of whats served on Indian television degrades women and this degradation goes on without much notice.
Consider, for example, the most popular of ongoing soaps, Diya Aur Baati Hum. In this folksy tale of a Halwai (confectioner) family based in Pushkar, we meet a woman who was once highly ambitious, aspiring to become an IPS officer to serve India. She is the pride of her town, topping all exams. She is projected as being capable of easily clearing the extremely demanding IPS recruitment tests. But she is married off to an uneducated man who runs a small sweets shop in a hastily arranged marriage. Her mother in law is a largely uneducated woman who has devoted her entire life to raise a family. Over the years, she has grown to expect women to marry, serve their families devotedly, produce children and learn to be happy with this arrangement. It is therefore no surprise that she is treated more like a full-time domestic help than a family member. Of course she was married into this family under a lie promulgated by her very own brother who chose to crush his sisters aspirations to pursue his own.
In an India where we need role models to stop female infanticide and put an end to the injustices that many women have to go through every day, one would have expected the writer to let a once IPS-aspirant to rebel, break off a marriage organised under a blatant lie, follow her dreams independently, become an IPS officer and show her brother and the society how she, in modern India, would not compromise with her dreams just because she happens to be a woman with a ridiculously selfish brother. What we get however, is the exact opposite of this. This intelligent, educated and aggressive woman bends over backwards to become a good domestic help by tolerating all of her mother-in-laws tantrums (mostly insults) and learning all the daily chores doing dishes, washing clothes, cooking food, helping her husband in the sweet shop, and of course unravelling the hidden agendas of other family members. She forgives her brother, telling him she has realised the importance of family over individual aspirations in this hopeless marriage.
If you are a viewer (sufferer) of Indian soaps, you know this is not the only soap that shows the purpose of a womans life as being the raising of a family, taking care of domestic chores and continuing to fight for her place and respect in the family. Balika Vadhu, Love Marriage ya Arrange Marriage, Saathiya Saath Nibhana, Pavitra Rishta, Ek Doosre Se Karte Hain Pyaar the list of popular soaps that shamelessly depict women in such a light can go on and on.
I would have had no issues with this kind of storyline in India of 1950s. But we are talking about India of the 21st century where female participation in the work force is on the rise, womens graduation rates are improving, many of our chief ministers and national politicians are women and female athletes making India proud. I have not come across one soap that shows women as self-confident, independent and not afraid to fight prejudices and breaking the glass ceiling.
Television, to me, serves two purposes in addition to entertaining us it shows a mirror to the society for what it is and projects what a society collectively aspires to be based on the outlook and aspirations of its audience. If the current crop of entertainment is any indication, our society remains predominantly antiquated as far as role of women is concerned and the outlook does not look any better.
Just to ensure I do not appear to be a self-proclaimed know it all hyper-critical of everything that is India NRI, let me make it clear that television on this side of the world is equally degrading. Women are objectified for men to be admired, enjoyed or despised in most of the television series. Even a character like Ally Mcbeal could not overcome such an objectification. I do not proclaim to be a feminist. But I do however hope to see characters like Peggy Olson of Mad Men and Mary Richards of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Indian television.
I hope to see a show on Indian television that shows an attractive, single, heterosexual woman choosing career over marriage, making it on her own and promoting individualism that fights the broader cultural and systemic problems of gender discrimination affecting all women. Till such a show hits Indian TV, I am going to take the South Asian package off my cable as soon as my mom takes her fight back to India and go back to watching satirical geniuses like Jon Stewart, live sports entertainment and repeat telecasts of sitcoms like the Big Bang Theory and Seinfeld.
