Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
Parul Khakhar's poem Shav Vahini Ganga was just a medium to express the pain in her own mind over the current situation, but trolls have given it another form.
Parul Khakkar’s poem Shav Vahini Ganga was just a medium to express the pain in her own mind over the current situation, but trolls have given it another form.
Translated from the original in Hindi by Sandhya Renukamba.
The presence and expression of women on social media has always been a big problem for Indian society, which is basically a proponent of patriarchal social behaviour.
In recent years, a group of patriarchal social groups have resorted to trolling with vulgar comments on the free expression of women on social media in such a way, that many women have had to delete their social media accounts or even leave social media.
Two days ago, after so much sharing and trolling of Parul Khakkar’s poem on social media, she had to change her Facebook ID and shut down her Instagram handle.
It is said that the words that come out of the depths of hurt, as well as from a truly happy mind have a lot of power.
Parul Khakkar, an ordinary homemaker from a simple family in Gujarat writes poems in Gujarati language along with managing household chores, especially devotional poems of Radha-Krishna. Recently, when the bodies of people dying of COVID were found floating in the Ganga, it pained her so much that she wrote her now viral 14-line poem titled ‘Shav Vahini Ganga’ and shared it on her social media account.
In just 48 hours, 28 thousand abusive-abusive comments were received on social media.
Over one lakh people have shared this poem on their social media accounts. Now the poem is being translated into Assamese, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bhojpuri, English, Bengali and other languages.
It will not be surprising if it is translated into foreign languages soon.
Abuse directed at women writing on social media is now becoming a common thing.
Abuse is not a new thing for women, who have been facing it for ever in their domestic life, in the public space, and at work. When women resist it, like in the recent Me-Too movement, people are startled that women are speaking up. But women are no longer passive acceptors of violence, and often express it – like in this case, the poem against the apathetic and negligent way the pandemic has been handled.
Parul Khakkar’s words will hopefully create more awareness of the issues in how this pandemic has been handled, and need to shared even more widely.
Image source: DW/EcoBusiness.com
read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
Please enter your email address