I don’t even want to say feminism is about equality: Urwa Hocane

Actor believes that some words are misconstrued and explains why she is a feminist

Popular actor Urwa Hocane recently appeared in a talk show with host Mira Sethi, whereby she spoke about many things including her stance on feminism. She started off by detailing how many words, labels and practices are misconstrued in our society but most importantly about how women are exploited.

Asked about the word ‘bold’ which is otherwise positive, but has a negative connotation in our culture, Urwa said, “People have unrealistic expectations from women. We’re always fitting ourselves in boxes so we get that validation. I have friends who aren’t ‘bold’ at all, but even they have so many labels attached to them.”

The celebrity went on to note that it’s not only the men who are labeling women and trying to put them into different boxes so they don’t become ‘bold’ as one would call it. “Sometimes it’s also the women who downplay other women and when I see that happening, it makes me sad,” continued Urwa.

“Like, something as trivial as women judging other women for the way they sit. I want to find out who wrote these rules and where is the booklet they wrote them in. And then I want to ask that person that even if I play by this book, would everyone laud me after that? Would I finally be appreciated? No,” the celebrity answered herself.

She then continued to point out how it’s the women who need to change and stop seeking validation.
“Just do what your heart tells you to do, cut yourself some slack and be good to yourself,” continued the Rangreza actor.

On that note, Mira inquired how women can be kind to themselves when the world is constantly trying to push them down. To this Urwa, acknowledging her privilege said, “I understand my privilege, I have a support system, I have a family, but even then I feel the person you need the most is you. I have seen women who are doing so much for other people; I feel if they do even half of that for themselves, their life would be so much easier.”

Pointing how women are by nature, nurturers, the Udaari actor said, “Nurturing should be a power not a weakness.”

Speaking of television serials and the messages our scripts deliver, Mira went on to point out how the entertainment industry also aids to silencing women. “Most of our scripts, I will not name the writers, but most of our scripts tell women to be patient so eventually everything falls into place for them. And patience is indeed a virtue, but it is not always the solution. Sometimes women need to speak up. So what do you have to say about that?”

Urwa then explained how too much of anything is bad, even the things that are positive and beautiful, even practices that deserve the applause. “There needs to be a balance and that applies to everything. Just because there is something known as patience, doesn’t mean there’s no limit to it. If somebody is stabbing me with a knife I won’t be patient or kind, you draw a line.”

Redirecting the attention to her earlier statement about how women are nurturers and more emotional, the producer claimed that people know our qualities which is why they exploit them.

“As for our scripts,” she continued, “the screen is a very powerful tool and I think we can use it more responsibly. Most of our writers are women, and now we have directors and producers who are women. We need to instill some values in society with the stories we tell.”

She stressed on the fact that she was not requesting for there to be a parallel cinema at all times. “Yes because art isn’t about giving lessons, it’s about giving leisure,” said Mira. “Absolutely, so how amazing it would be that we wrap up these values in the form of entertainment and give them to people,” claimed Urwa.

“Because no matter how much you and I try to limit what we do to fun and games, people are taking inspiration from us and it does have an impact,” she reiterated.

To this the host then asked her if she the actor called herself a feminist and what she thought about feminism, “I am a feminist. But I don’t think feminism is about hating the other gender,” said the Tich Button producer.

“It’s about knowing you’re no less, knowing your place. It’s about coexisting. I don’t even want to use the word equal or say feminism is about equality because even that is misconstrued. I would rather say it is about coexisting and so that people understand that we also exist and so we have our rights,” she concluded.

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