Mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, teacher, a woman is said to have a million facets. But it looks like this adage no longer holds good. That’s because recent events reported in the media have been projecting a totally different image of the woman. A woman tourism minister hugs her male paragliding instructor to thank him for a successful jump and she has committed blasphemy. A male prime minister kisses his elderly female teacher’s hand and he is seen to be breaking the tenets of his religion. An elderly Hollywood actor playfully kisses a Bollywood actress on her cheeks at a charity function and she is said to be having a sexual orgy in front of the camera. It's disheartening to see how certain gestures of gratitude, respect, or affection between men and women are being misinterpreted and sensationalized in the media. The tendency to hypersexualize or demonize women for their actions perpetuates harmful stereotypes. It reinforces the narrow and outdated notion that women exist primarily as objects of male desire or as symbols of purity and propriety. Furthermore, these incidents underscore the double standards that persist in society regarding acceptable behaviour for men and women. While men may receive praise or admiration for similar actions, women are often subjected to unfair scrutiny, criticism, or even condemnation.

Have we become so narrow-minded that we see a woman only as an object of sexuality? Are we not forgetting that it is the mother who almost enters the doorsteps of death and gives birth to her son and nurtures him at her breast literally breathing life into him? Is she not the sister who lovingly cares for him or the teacher who guides him and teaches him the lessons which he follows for life and the wife who loves and stands by him at all times? Women fulfil roles as mothers, sisters, daughters, teachers, caregivers, leaders and much more. These roles encompass a broad spectrum of emotions, responsibilities, and experiences that extend far beyond the realm of sexuality. Today in the modern world we have women in almost all spheres of life- from astronauts and pilots to prime ministers and corporate bigwigs. But our social perception has become so single-tracked that we see any physical contact between a man and a woman only from the sexual angle. Maybe our forefathers who explicitly and openly wrote the Kamasutra and sculpted the beautiful erotic sculptures of Khajuraho were way ahead of us in more than one way and not sexual hypocrites.

As a woman, I have very much lived my life on my own terms. Studying what I wanted, choosing my own life partner and following my own dreams of whether it was making a career for myself or giving myself wholly to the bringing up of my children. But even today in the public eye a woman is seen primarily as an object of sexuality. The recent controversy over films that show women as mere means for sexual pleasure and assert a misogynistic portrayal of men treating women with a total lack of sensitivity has gained popularity and approval from our patriarchal society. It finds nothing wrong when a man asks his wife to lick his boots or when he asserts his ownership over her as if she were cattle.

It's true that despite the progress women have made in various fields, there are still pervasive stereotypes and biases that persist. The dichotomy between the public portrayal of women as primarily sexual objects and the reality of women living multifaceted lives with diverse aspirations and roles is indeed an epiphany of the modern world. Recognizing and valuing the multifaceted nature of women's identities is essential for fostering gender equality and promoting respectful and meaningful relationships between individuals of all genders. By acknowledging and celebrating women's diverse roles and contributions, we need to challenge narrow-minded attitudes and promote a more inclusive and equitable society where everyone's humanity is honoured and respected.

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