A day after Kriti Sanon retorted to the criticism surrounding her latest advertisement, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit back at the trolls urging people to stop commenting on women for exercising their freedom.
In an Instagram story, Gandhi tagged Sanon's response and said, "What a woman wears, what she does and where she goes – "is her choice." "Stop trolling women for exercising their freedom," he said, using the hashtag ‘smash the patriarchy’.
His remarks came after Kriti Sanon faced relentless backlash for her "immodest" clothing for a recent jewellery advertisement ahead of Raksha Bandhan. The ad had the Cocktail 2 star in an Indo-Western ensemble featuring a bralette-skirt combo with a cape and shows her tying a Rakhi to her brother and pet dog. The 36-second-long video irked many netizens and courted controversy on social media with debates on Indian culture and freedom of choice coming to the fore.
Reacting to the issue, Kriti broke her silence on Tuesday, saying, "When will we stop telling women what to wear?". She called out the comments on her ad and questioned why a woman's respect for her culture is measured with just her clothes. "The essence of festivals is not in the clothes you wear, it is in the emotions and meaning you hold for the traditions. Rakshabandhan is a bond of protection. My sister and I tie rakhi to each other. We know we can protect each other no less than a brother would have. We pray for each other's health, happiness & long life. And for us, this prayer and promise extends to our dogs too! Afterall, they are family!" she added.
Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut termed Sanon’s outfit “intentionally creepy” when the ad came out. "From all the options that are available to us today why would you tie your brother a Rakhi in your bikini/ undergarments? Where are all your styling options?" she probed. Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, she reshared BJP's latest Instagram post which showed Rahul talking about smashing the patriarchy when a young girl says, "Bro, wait. Bharat Mata ki Jay. Shuru karte hain." The illustrated posts questions Congress’ position on women’s representation and several issues, including the Women’s Reservation Bill, triple talaq and the Shah Bano case.
The controversy comes days after Rahul Gandhi urged women to "smash the patriarchy" and asserted that women belong to themselves rather than to male relatives. Speaking at the recent 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' event, the politician criticised the mindset found in texts like the Manusmriti for restricting women to roles defined by men and boxing them into identities like daughter, wife, or mother.
