New Delhi: A group for harassed Indian men is demanding that a television commercial showing a woman slapping her husband should be taken off the air because it is 'insulting' to men.
The commercial is by Kitply, a Kolkata-based company that manufactures plyboard. In the advertisement, the newlyweds retire to their bedroom and recline on the bed only to find it making creaking noises under their weight.
Cross that her husband has chosen a bed made from inferior plyboard, the bride slaps him and asks "Why didn't you get a bed made with Kitply?"
"Violence is not funny, be it against a man or women. This commercial is revolting and we will campaign against it until it is removed because it promotes domestic violence against men," said Swarup Sarkar, president of the Save Family Foundation.
The Foundation fights for the rights of Indian men who have been falsely accused by their wives of demanding dowry under India's draconian anti-dowry laws and men who are victims of violent wives.
Double standards
For Sarkar, the fact that the commercial was being shown on television at all exposes the 'double standards' that exist for men and women.
"If the ad had shown a man slapping a woman, there would have been a national outcry. But when it's a man, it's meant to be funny. But it's not. There are thousands of men who suffer domestic violence, beatings by their wives, and it's not amusing," he said.
The Foundation believes that India's pro-women laws are so harsh and biased against men that Indian men will soon start thinking twice about marrying. The result, Sarkar predicts, will be the destruction of the institution of marriage and the Indian family.
Unhappy
He is also unhappy about two other adverts currently being shown on Indian TV. One, by ICICI Bank, shows a woman calling her husband "stupid". In another, by Reliance Mobile, a young woman tells her boyfriend to "shut up".
"Tell me, will any company show a man calling a woman stupid or telling her to shut up?" asked Sarkar.
Kitply is taken aback at the legal complaint filed by the Foundation. "We were just trying to be amusing and light-hearted. But if people are angry and offended, then we will reconsider the ad," said Bikram Shah, Manager, Commercial, with Kitply.
The protest against the Kitply advert is another demonstration of a new intolerance - over both serious and trifling matters - that seems to have become entrenched in recent years.
A south Indian actress, Khushboo, was targeted by conservative groups a year ago when she said during a television interview that unmarried couples should use condoms to avoid contracting Aids. She was accused of encouraging pre-marital sex.
More recently, actress Shilpa Shetty and Hollywood star Richard Gere had legal cases slapped on them after Gere gave Shetty a rather prolonged kiss on stage during an anti-Aids show. Gere was accused of disrespecting Indian culture.
Do you think wives abusing their husbands is a major issue in Indian society? Or is the recent protest only a sign of growing intolerance in the Indian society? Is there a need to change the anti-dowry laws?
