Readymade Babies. Taslima Nasrin takes a dig at Priyanka Chopra

As per Taslima Nasrin surrogacy is possible because poor women exist and rich people exploit their need for money. They want "ready-made babies" that have their traits in order to serve their selfish narcissistic ego"

I am not sure how the Bangladeshi writer was able to relate poverty with surrogacy, maybe it is the fruit of the writer's artistic imagination, but her statement was able to spark a very relatable debate on social media on why women are judged for the mode of birth they choose. Taslima Nasrin is a well known feminist, who has written on oppression of women and so this comment from her has set off many questions on her belief in the very idea of feminism.

Many disadvantaged women agree to be surrogates for affluent women in exchange for money. There also have been instances where surrogate mothers have been exploited but to completely reject anyone who opts for surrogacy seems extreme. Not every woman who agrees to be a surrogate does so by force or threat. By lending their womb to another woman, they are helping another woman's quest for motherhood and at the same time fulfilling their need for financial gain.

If using our bodies for monetary gain is never out of choice then we might as well say that all sex workers around the world are exploited. Which is not true as many of them are in the profession because they want to.

Taslima Nasrin Priyanka Chopra Surrogacy Comment

The writer, on Twitter, said "Surrogacy is possible because there are poor women. Rich people always want the existence of poverty in the society for their own interests. If you badly need to raise a child, adopt a homeless one. Children must inherit your traits---it is just a selfish narcissistic ego. How do those mothers feel when they get their readymade babies through surrogacy? Do they have the same feelings for the babies like the mothers who give birth to the babies?"

I am a big champion of adoption and it would be great if more homeless children could get adopted. However to use that as a reason to troll someone who wants to become a mother via a surrogate is just wrong. Further to question they ability to love and feel 'like a mother' itself is inappropriate. Nasrin seems to forget that the mode of child birth is the mother's choice. It is unfortunate to see public figures making such careless statements.

Understanding The Writer and Her Words

It is disheartening to see a woman invalidate other woman's choice of the mode of having a child. And what does Nasrin try to infer by asking if "they have the same feelings for the babies like the mothers who give birth to the babies". Is motherly love all about biological connection?

Nasrin's statement is insinuating that adoptive parents and children will never have emotional bonding and biological mothers would never be culprits of child harassment?

Trolled for her comments

And then when the writer saw herself being slammed by people on social media, she apologised saying that it was not intended on Priyanka and Nick. But the damage was done. The timing of her statement was aligned with Chopra's baby announcement, and her comment were too strong for her to roll them back.  She posted the tweets on the same day when Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas announce the news of their parenthood.

Dear Taslima Nasrin, society doesn't need your apology. What we actually need is for you to change your thinking and ensure you don't exploit your position of power and influence to do better and not take us back in time with regressive thinking.

Views expressed are author's own

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