Nusrat Jahan To Dia Mirza: Why The Backlash For Unconventional Motherhood?

Nusrat Jahan Son: Ever since the news of actor-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan's pregnancy surfaced, the speculations about who is the father were made. Social media users and even notable personalities pointed the finger at her. But why is the identity of the father so important?

The secret was finally revealed on Thursday when the birth certificate of Jahan's baby went public, it mentioned BJP member Yash Dasgupta's name as the father. But was that necessary? Why do we always want to know about the father's identity? Nusrat Jahan had all the rights to keep the information to herself.

Dasgupta and Jahan were rumoured to be dating and the birth certificate just gave enough to the trolls to ridicule the actor. And even if the news is out, why is that a big deal? Nusrat Jahan is an established name in the Bengali film industry, she won the Lok Sabha elections on Trinamool Congress's ticket in 2019 and people still cannot stop talking about her personal life.

Our patriarchal society is still unable to get past the fact that women have agency over their bodies and can decide when and if they want to get married. Jahan decided to conceive her child outside of marriage and that should not be an issue. Many women before Jahan have faced similar questions and judgements.

Actor Dia Mirza got married to Vaibhav Rekhi in February this year and she announced her pregnancy in April. She was attacked with problematic questions like "Did you marry Rekhi because you were pregnant?" and many others. The actor had to respond and explain that getting married and having a baby was a decision she and her husband took together. Did she need anyone else's approval? No.

Many female celebrities such Neena Gupta, Sridevi, Sarika (Kamal Haasan's ex-wife) and others had to go through public scrutiny for just giving birth outside of wedlock. What is interesting to note is the fathers in these cases hardly had to answer anything to anyone. Even when there is nobody to blame, society somehow finds a way to judge a woman's character.

Women like Nusrat Jahan, Neena Gupta, Dia Mirza and many others chose a different path to motherhood that does not abide by the "rules" of the society. They opted for something that suited them and they do not deserve disrespect for that. They don't deserve to be judged. So what if they were not married to the fathers of their children when they got pregnant? Don't they have the right to make that choice?

Views expressed by the author are their own.