Boy, do I have a men-being-crass-towards-women story for you today.
So, author Chetan Bhagat went to a literary festival recently organized by the media house Aaj Tak and during one of its sessions, he was talking about social media addiction and how it has weakened the minds of today’s youth. It started well, I am not going to lie. He spoke about how young boys nowadays spend hours on end watching Instagram Reels. But then came the problem – he dragged Uorfi Javed into it.
View this post on Instagram
Uorfi Javed has become a household name owing to her out-of-the-box fashion choices. For some, her fashion choices can be questionable, often ‘bizarre’ and also ‘provocative’. But for many others, it’s inspiring. For example, designer Masaba Gupta in an interview had said, “I want to learn from Uorfi Javed. I think she’s putting in a lot of hard work. More than any designer, any brand, she’s really working hard on her outfits every day. I would rate her choices 10/10 because there’s so much effort.”
View this post on Instagram
The moment Chetan Bhagat mentioned Uorfi Javed’s name, the audience broke into laughs and he asked what will they achieve by knowing who she is or the kind of clothes she’s wearing.
“Phone has been a great distraction for the youth, especially the boys, spending hours just watching Instagram reels. Everyone knows who Uorfi Javed is. What will you do with her photos? Is it coming in your exams or you will go for a job interview and tell the interviewer that you know all her outfits? Job interview mein ja ke bologe ki sir mujhe Uorfi Javed ki sari dresses pata hai? Toh ho kya raha hai ki dhyaan kheench rahin hain sari chizein. Ab uss bechari ki galti nahi hai vo apna career bana rahi hai.. Aise 50 aur hain,” he said.
He then goes on to add, “Ek India ka jawan vo hai jo Kargil pe baith ke desh ki raksha kar raha hai. Ek humara youth ye hai jo bistaron mein ghus ke Uorfi Javed ki photos dekh raha hai.”
(There are Indian soldiers who are at the border protecting the nation. And here our youth is getting into bed and gawking at Uorfi Javed’s photos.)
Here’s a video of the incident:
You may wonder what’s wrong with the statements that he made. Well, multiple things. Firstly, why would a reputed panel speaker bring up Uorfi Javed at a literary festival is beyond my understanding. Secondly, he basically criticized young boys for looking through such pictures, which might appear sexual to some, of a woman which is a completely healthy expression of their sexuality. Thirdly, what’s with this “humare youth bistaron mein ghus ke Uorfi Javed ki photos dekh rahe hai” statement? Does that not sound crass and disrespectful to you?
View this post on Instagram
By insinuating that Uorfi Javed is a “distraction”, Bhagat is basically putting the onus on her for distracting our youth. Here is a wonderful article I came across on this topic by Firstpost. You may want to give it a read.
I think we as a society need to be more mindful of the kind of vocabulary we use while talking about women. What are your views on this?