The adage goes: ‘Behind every successful man, there is a strong woman’. But it has taken centuries for women to prove their strength and importance in men’s lives. Despite all the remarkable achievements, women in India still face significant challenges. And seldom do they get the credit of being the pillar of strength behind their man. A case in point is Virat Kohli’s wife, Anushka Sharma, who has repeatedly been trolled for being bad luck to her husband and is now being denied any credit for his achievement, though the actor hasn’t asked for any.
While the nation is celebrating India’s grand victory in the semi-finals of the World Cup and Virat’s exemplary performance marking the 50th century in ODI format, his wife, an accomplished actor is again on the radar of trollers. It seems the men in our country do not want to give any credit to a woman in a man’s file.
Do women only belong in kitchens?
Natasha Ramarathnam, an X (formerly known as Twitter) user on Wednesday congratulated Anushka for Virat’s milestone victory. She wrote, “Congratulations, Anushka Sharma, on your husband’s monumental achievement. (sic).” It seems the tweet didn’t go down well with the majority of men on social media and declined to give any credit to Anushka for Virat’s victory. “There’s no identity of Anushka Sharma. Her only identity is that she is Virat Kohli’s wife. A husband is not introduced by being a husband of any woman. (sic),” a user wrote.
Some users also pointed out Mohammed Shami’s achievements and his ongoing divorce case with his estranged wife, Hasin Jahan. It is to say how Shammi’s wife has no role in his success and how she has played a ‘bad woman’ in his life. Some users also said that women should only be in kitchens and wishing a woman for a man’s victory is feminism. “Congratulating wife for husband’s victory looks very feminist. It can be implied she can’t have her own victory. (sic),” a user wrote.
The X is abuzz since the tweet has gone viral. One wonders why women in India still have to prove themselves and why their individual achievements are brushed under the carpet. Despite being one of the leading actresses of Bollywood, Anushka’s achievements have been neglected by Indians, let alone giving her credit for Virat’s victories. Anushka was blamed and abused when Virat failed to perform in the past by Virat’s fans and cricket lovers.
Explaining their stance
In 2015, fans burned effigies of the NH10 actor blaming her for the disappointing defeat in the 2015 World Cup. The actor has time and again clarified that their careers have nothing to do with their personal lives. "Why is that person a distraction? What! Because you are attaching a physical relationship? I found that extremely primitive and distasteful to use that word. That’s because of the background I come from, for me it’s like who talks like that? And then you are doubting the capability of these people who have been playing since they were children, that’s all they know. If you meet these guys, they don’t know anything other than cricket. They breathe, eat, live, die cricket. So you are saying they are not capable of dealing with their career. Give them credit for what they have achieved,” Anushka had said in her previous interview.
Virat too expressed his support to Anushka. “At a human level, I would say I was hurt and the people who said those things and the way they said should be ashamed of themselves. To see those reactions after just one match was very disappointing for me. It makes you lose faith in a lot of people. It's a good thing in a way. You get to know who's with you and who's not. It was not in my control. But the reactions were very disappointing," Virat said in his past interactions. Time and again the former captain of Team Blue has expressed that Anushka is his biggest strength through his low phase.
Patriarchal mindset needs to change
Surprisingly, both have to explain themselves to those faceless trollers on the internet. According to Parched actor Tannishtha Chatterjee, it is all about the mindset of men and the way they see women. “It shows when men think about women. Men think they can write anything on the internet and get away with that. We say the society has become progressive and modern but, unfortunately, men still look down upon women,” Chatterjee said.
Author and painter Era Tak believes male ego is dominating their thoughts and they fail to give credit to a woman. “Women should be free from the patriarchal net. They sacrifice their dreams to let the man live his, but still, women won’t get the credit. Anushka and
Virat both are accomplished individuals in their fields and saying that she has no achievements of her own, shows how unaware the person is,” the author said.
Noted poet and the founder of Chair Poetry Evenings in Kolkata, Sonnet Mondal thinks that education and values are missing in many men. “There’s no limit on social media when it comes to expressing opinions. Everyone is passing judgment and women become a soft target. Demeaning a woman just because she is associated with some famous person is not right. Men need to think beyond their self-ego and patriarchal attitude,” Mondal said.
