As popular actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu turns 35 today, let's have a look at the times when she supported the cause of women's empowerment by breaking stereotypes and advocating feminism and equality.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu On Feminism
On being trolled for her dance number Oo Antava
She was also not spared for her dance number Oo Antava in Allu Arjun's Pushpa. A lot of netizens blamed the transformation she went through as the reason behind her divorce. In a post, she explained the amount of effort it went into getting that sexy look for the film.
On MeToo movement
She also lent unwavering support to women who spoke up in the wake of the #MeToo movement. She had tweeted then, "I am so happy that more and more women are finding the strength to say #MeToo . Your bravery is commendable. I am sorry though that some people, even other women themselves will shame and burden you with the question of proof and doubt. Just know that you are saving (sic)," she tweeted then.
On society setting different standards for men and women
She has also shared a post slamming society for setting different standards for men and women on social media. For instance, she took to Instagram to share a Farida quote that read, "If matters are constantly, morally questionable when done by women, but not even morally questioned when done by men - then we, as a society, fundamentally have no morals."
Make your daughter so capable that you don't have to worry who will marry her. Instead of saving money for her wedding day, spend it on her education and most importantly, instead of preparing her for marriage, prepare her for herself. Teach her self-love, confidence, and that she can throat punch someone if she needs to - Samantha Ruth Prabhu shared Rani Rampal's post
Suggested Reading: Director Anu Menon on Feminism and Why She Made ‘Shakuntala Devi’
On making girls self-reliant
Besides this, she also shared a note urging parents to provide their daughters with the opportunity to become self-reliant by getting educated instead of saving money for their weddings. "Make your daughter so capable that you don't have to worry who will marry her. Instead of saving money for her wedding day, spend it on her education and most importantly, instead of preparing her for marriage, prepare her for herself. Teach her self-love, confidence, and that she can throat punch someone if she needs to," the note read. The post was originally written by hockey player Rani Rampal.
On women being judged for wearing what they want to
Samantha Ruth was once trolled for wearing a plunging neckline dress. In reply, she wrote a long note about how women are easily judged for the clothes they wear. She asked people to focus on their betterment and not waste their time judging a woman based on their hemlines and necklines.
"As a woman, I bear firsthand knowledge of what it means to be judged. We judge women based on what they wear, their race, education, social standing, appearance, skin tone and the list goes on and on. Making snap judgements about a person simply based on the clothes they wear is quite literally the easiest thing one can do. Now that we're in the year 2022 - can we finally stop judging a woman based on the hemlines and necklines she adorns and focus instead on bettering ourselves? Turning that judgment inward and training it on one's own self is evolution. Projecting our ideals on someone else never did anyone any good. Let's gently rewrite the way we measure and understand a person," Samantha's post read.
More power to Samantha Ruth Prabhu for speaking her heart out from time to time.
Suggested Reading : ‘To Practice Feminism, You Have To Practice Empathy’: Moose Jattana