Chinmayi Sripada Surrogacy Rumours: Stop Asking Women How They Had Their Kids

Getting married, not getting married, having kids, not having, when to get married and have kids, are some of the decisions that are very personal and depend only on the parties involved. But for women, it seems that there is no escape from society that demands answers to these questions, almost shamelessly.

Singer Chinmayi Sripada and her actor husband Rahul Ravindran welcomed twins on June 22. The singer and her husband have named their children Driptah and Sharvas. Sharing a picture in which the babies' hands can be seen holding their parents' fingers, Sripada wrote in her post that their children were the "new and forever center of our universe". However, this joyous occasion was soured for the singer by some of her followers who began to ask her whether she had her children via surrogacy or not?

The reason for this speculation? Sripada had not posted any pictures of herself on social media during her pregnancy.

"I'm absolutely loving these people who are DM-ing me asking if I had twins through a surrogate just because I didn’t post pictures of me being pregnant. Only those who were my innermost circle knew because I was protecting myself." The singer further added that she was and always will be extremely guarded about her personal life, family and her friends’ circle.

The fact that a new mother had to address the rumors about her opting for surrogacy shows the sense of entitlement that society has when it comes to scrutinising women's lives. What right do people have to ask her questions on how her children were born? A new mom should not have to address baseless rumours, instead of focussing on her own health and her newborn babies.

Suggested Reading: Chinmayi Sripada Becomes Mother Of Twins, Her Children To Stay Away From Social Media

Chinmayi Sripada surrogacy rumours: Leave women and their choices alone.

Socially forcing women to have their own kids feels like another way society polices and control their bodies. This has been seen quite frequently with backlash against celebs who opted for surrogacy. When actor Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas welcomed their baby girl through surrogacy, the internet lost its calm. Priyanka faced gruesome criticism, not only for choosing surrogacy but also not going for adoption instead.

Somehow society has made up its mind that when a woman opts for surrogacy, she is "damaged" as she can't bear children, or that she is a selfish person who doesn't want to bear a child to preserve her figure. Whatever happened to having a choice?

Motherhood isn't restricted to birthing a child

You don’t have to give birth to a child to be a mother. Also, motherhood isn't a necessity, it's a choice. You can choose to be a mother and you can choose not to be one. Giving birth to your child, opt for surrogacy or adoption- these are all aspects of the institution that is motherhood and each one is equally valid, equally important.

Sushmita Sen’s daughter Renee, revealed how she deals with questions regarding her birth mother in an interview last year. She said, “You know, on my Instagram, I was asked this question: ‘Who’s your real mother?'”. In her reply, she asked the person to define what a real mother is.

Instead of scrutinising motherhood, society needs to start all the different aspects of motherhood and let women enjoy this journey. It is a unique experience that changes a woman's life. The last thing she needs is to squash rumours about it,  instead of sharing her joy and experience.

Views expressed are the author's own.