Alia Bhatt Judged For Her Pregnancy: Why Are People Asking Invasive Questions?

Actor Alia Bhatt is being judged after she announced that she and her husband Ranbir Kapoor were expecting their first child. Bhatt made the announcement via an Instagram post on June 27 and people took to social media to congratulate the duo. Some trolls began to crack jokes and pass judgement on Bhatt for the pregnancy. Once fans decided that Bhatt’s pregnancy did not align with their personal beliefs, they took to being judgemental and scrutinising the pregnancy. Why do people feel it is their place to ask invasive questions about Bhatt’s pregnancy?

Alia Bhatt was judged and ridiculed following her pregnancy announcement in the early stages of her marriage to Ranbir Kapoor. Social media users repeatedly brought up that couple had only been married for two months before they announced the pregnancy. One Twitter user said, “Pehle pregnancy phir shaadi (First pregnancy then marriage)."

Why Was Alia Bhatt Judged For Her Early Pregnancy?

Women have the agency to make different decisions and do not have to follow a particular timeline for their choices to be socially acceptable. A woman can choose to have children without being married, a woman can choose to never have children, and a woman can choose to announce her pregnancy soon after her wedding. These are all decisions that women should be allowed to make without being put under a microscope and scrutinised.

People trolled Bhatt and Kapoor for conceiving their baby two months into their marriage and some claimed that Bhatt was already pregnant by the time they got married. In order to live a happy and fulfilled life women don't need to adhere to a strict timeline that dictates when women should get married and when they should have children. Only the couple themselves know if they are ready to become parents and start a new stage of their lives. If the couple is ready to become parents and start a new phase of their life, why are people so hung up on the particulars?

Suggested Reading: Why Should Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif Be Pressurised If Alia Bhatt Is Pregnant?

Does Pregnancy Erase A Woman's Right To Privacy?

Bhatt is not the first woman to face speculation after she revealed information about her private life. After politician and actor Nusrat Jahan gave birth to her son, people began speculating who the father of the child was and trolling Jahan. People continued to ask invasive questions and expected Jahan to answer, privacy be damned.

Similarly, when actor Dia Mirza announced her pregnancy two months after she married Vaibhav Rekhi, people thought they were entitled to her personal information and asked if she married Rekhi because she was pregnant.

After female celebrities release information about their lives, some trolls believe that they can invade their privacy and ask judgmental questions. Mirza had to explain to people that she and her husband made their own decisions and did not ask for people’s approval or their judgement. A similar pattern followed when Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi announced their first pregnancy.

Women are allowed to maintain their right to privacy. People often forget that celebrities are humans and deserve to have their privacy respected. Harassing women for details about their private lives is a violation of their privacy. People need to accept that there are some questions that are too invasive and shouldn't be asked.

Women Don't Owe Anyone Explanations For Their Decisions

Women are judged if they don't have children, if they have children without being married, if they have children several years after marriage, and if they have children right after tying the knot. Women are allowed to make their own decisions but only if it aligns with other people's ideologies. Why won't we allow women to make decisions for themselves without being judged?

When women make decisions that do not align with people’s expectations, they often have to deal with being judged, ridiculed and trolled. If a woman and her decisions do not fit a particular mould, then society is quick to judge them for not conforming to societal expectations. The belief is that a woman should have children, but only if she has been married for a certain amount of time and is a particular age. Women that don't follow the norms are relentlessly asked about why they made certain decisions.

If people do not approve of a woman’s decision, then they believe that the woman is at fault for failing their preconceived notions. People forget that women do not owe them anything. Women have the right to make their own decisions and do not require approval from anyone, least of all strangers.

The views expressed are the author’s own.