Amitabh Bachchan is the UN ambassador for the Girl Child. PHOTO: REUTERS
MUMBAI: Amid discussions on women’s safety in India, superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who is the UN ambassador for the Girl Child, has demanded “respect of equality” for the “stronger beings”.
“Women power! Women must have the respect of equality...they are the stronger beings...when they prosper, society prospers, mankind (and I use this word specifically to address the men folk, as opposed to women in other references) can and shall only exist with them, not without,” Big B posted on his blog on Friday. His words, penned on the night of the festival of Holi, flowed when he mentioned ‘Lathmar Holi’, practiced in “many parts of the northern states.”
“In many parts of the Northern states, UP and Rajasthan, the day invites women to abuse and beat the men, in the special Holi termed ‘Lath Holi’. ‘Lath’ is a stick or a wooden column or stave... a ‘danda’ that the women use to beat the men, a flagellation of sorts...and the men must bear it all without any retaliation.” He added, “It is the day reserved for the women – to pay back as it were, to secure themselves in the abandon of authority and sublimation.”
The Bollywood megastar recently made his sports commentary debut at the India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match on February 15. Bachchan has done voice-overs in many feature films and has also lent his voice to documentaries and social causes.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2015.
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