Women Rising: Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu Gives Befitting Reply To Misogynistic Trolls

Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu replied to a tweet that featured a photo of Chennai’s Vettri theatre walls being adorned by posters of female-centric movies. Prabhu retweeted the photo and wrote, "Women Rising!" A troll countered her with a tweet saying, "Yes. Just to fall."

Prabhu hit back at the misogynistic troll with class and confidence, saying, "Getting back up makes it all the more sweeter, my friend." Now, this raises the question: why can't men stand ambitious and successful women? Why do they try to discourage and pray for women to lose?

Men Are Unsupportive Of Ambitious Women? About Time We Change It

Ambition is considered a negative word when associated with women. Unfortunately, we're still living in a patriarchal society that has conditioned us to believe that men are the providers and protectors. A highly successful and reputable career, or any job at all, is not considered to be the domain of women. Despite this conditioning, women have proven their potential in every field. Yet why are ambitious women seen as a threat? Why don’t women receive the support and recognition that they deserve?

Since ancient times, women have not been recognised or appreciated enough for their potential. Take the Chola Princess Kundavai, for instance. She was a talented diplomat, an expert political strategist, and a patriot. But how many of us knew of her before Ponniyin Selvan? How many history books talk about her contribution to the expansion and success of the Chola dynasty? We only learned about Raja Raja Cholan and his descendants. But Kundavai, who was behind their success, is nowhere mentioned in textbooks.

According to statistics, only 33% of married women are in the workforce. Many men cannot accept a partner who is professionally successful and makes more money than them. In a typical arranged marriage setting, the groom’s family looks for a bride who is well-educated but wants her to quit her job after marriage or after she has a baby. Even if they "allow" her to work, they make sure she isn’t professionally more successful or earning more than the groom. Why this disparity? Why does a man's ego get hurt if his partner is successful and earns more than him? Because that is what patriarchy has ingrained in our minds for ages. Working women struggle with work-life balance mainly because household chores and parenting are seen as their primary duties. The men of the house are exempted from sharing the workload.

Even today, some parents are content to spend a fortune on their son's education while being unwilling to spend more than the bare minimum on their daughter's. Men from such households will perceive women as their inferiors. They will fail to see their spouse as an individual with dreams and ambitions of her own and will only expect her to be a devoted wife and mother. These men are taught that manhood equals having control over their spouse and being the sole provider of the family. So they cannot stand ambitious and successful women because these women are self-sufficient and cannot be "controlled." In patriarchal societies, it is considered shameful for men to be unable to control their spouse.

It's 2023, so why is society still sticking to age-old gender roles and stereotypes? So, what if a woman is more educated than her spouse? What if she has a better career? What if she is earning more? Isn't that something to be proud of for a man? Ambitious women shouldn’t be viewed as a threat, and men should start being supportive of their spouse’s accomplishments. It's not fair to put women in a position where they have to choose between work and relationships. Women shouldn't be forced to compromise their dreams and desires to avoid hurting the egos of their male family members. Women don't have to give up their talents and downplay their abilities to appease society's misogynistic mindset.

Suggested Reading: Women Rule On Billboards And Films: The Changing Face Of South Indian Cinema

Views expressed by the author are their own.