You know things are bad when even the Amul Girl cries over the atrocities being committed against women in our country. A recent cartoon shows our beloved mischievous little girl in tears. Looking at the current state of affairs, it's not hard to empathise with her sombre mood.
It’s a heart-breaking picture for many fans, who like me look forward to seeing her take on current issues and developments with her bright smile. But her mischievous face is a picture of sadness now, and her eyes are full of tears. Have hit a social rock bottom, when even our beloved cartoon character synonymous with a smile, is asking us to shed a tear as well?
“Zara aankh me bhar lo pani,” is also a plea to all those who cannot see beyond politics and communal colours to acknowledge the wretchedness of these brutal rapes.
We have almost never seen the Amul girl cry
Loaded with clever wordplay, the Amul Ad Icon is loved for offering her twisty takes on current issues. It’s all done in good humour, irrespective of the nature of the issue at hand.
Be it Priya Varrier’s wink.
The recent information misuse scandal.
Stephen Hawking’s demise.
Or the changing direction of political wind
Amul’s ads offer their take on current issues with a pinch of salt and butter. But it is mostly with a smile. I cannot recall any other strip where she looks so pained. So used to are we of seeing her smile, that it makes one uneasy to see like this. Maybe that is what she wants us to do as well.
Take a minute for introspection
If you love the Amul girl, take a cue and sit down to introspect. We are all feeling outraged and angry over the state of women’s safety in our country. But somewhere amidst this we have forgotten to mourn. We have not taken a minute to assess our loss, as a society.
The ever-increasing number of rapes hint towards the regression of our society from being patriarchal and misogynist, to the one which is looking at rape from every angle, but that of humanity. We write on our social media walls that we are crying but how much time are we spending outside of our virtual lives to mourn them?
It is essential that we mourn because when the dust settles down, we need to sit down and ask ourselves why are things getting worse with each passing day? Why despite our social media outrage and candlelight vigils do we fail to curb sexual crime against women? Why year after year girls and women have to live in constant fear of sexual violation, despite our pledge to curb it?
Rage does subside with time, but sadness remains. We have to learn to use this sadness as a reminder to keep fighting and usher in a social change. It will help us keep the spark of struggle alive and hopefully our Amul girl will never have to cry for India’s women again.
Photo Credit : Amul.coop (Twitter)
Also Read : Is Political Inclination Weakening Our Fight to Counter Rape Culture?
Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are author’s own.
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