Swara Bhaskar Trolled After Announcing Pregnancy: Premarital Sex Isn’t Sin; It’s A Choice

A couple of days ago, actor Swara Bhaskar announced on Instagram that she was expecting her first child with politician husband Fahad Ahmad. The actor posted a photo of her baby bump while sitting with her husband on the terrace.

Amidst all the wishes and love the couple is receiving, Swara Bhaskar is being trolled mercilessly since she announced her pregnancy. Instead of congratulating her, people are busy speculating on how she could be 7 months pregnant when she got married in January 2023. People are so busy calculating the day she tied the knot and comparing it with how far along she is in her pregnancy.

Swara Bhaskar Trolled For Pregnancy

From speculating that this was probably the reason she got married to sarcastically considering modern relationships to be something where women get pregnant first and then get married, the comments are extremely disgusting. People are assuming that she conceived the baby before getting married. Well, so what if she did? Who is anybody to comment on when she should get pregnant and when she should get married?

This is not the first time people have hit this low. Alia Bhatt was subjected to extreme criticism when she revealed she was pregnant. People not only assumed but almost decided that was the reason she got married at the peak of her career. Earlier, actor Dia Mirza was also trolled for getting pregnant before marriage. She was judged and criticised for getting married only to save her face because she had gotten pregnant. However, the actor handled it with sass.

Premarital Sex Isn’t A sin

This makes me wonder why society is so averse to the concept of premarital sex and getting pregnant before marriage. Isn’t pregnancy and marriage a personal choice between partners? Why should anybody except them have a say in it? As soon as a couple gets married, people start expecting to hear "good news" from them at the earliest. And once the couple does announce the "good news," they are subjected to scrutiny.

Why is premarital sex associated with shame? There’s nothing wrong with people addressing their bodily needs, as long as it’s consensual.

Why should women who engage in premarital sex be considered "impure," "uncultured," "characterless," etc.? It’s their body and their choice! Why is a woman's worth assessed by her chastity, aka virginity?

We are halfway through 2023, and women are among the potential candidates to travel to Mars. And yet, they are scrutinised, judged, shamed, and criticised for making personal choices pertaining to their bodies and sexuality. Women in patriarchal societies continue to lack the freedom to make independent choices over their bodies and sex lives, or rather anything at all.

Pregnancy is not a joke, and do people have to put unwarranted stress on the pregnant couple, especially the mom-to-be? A woman has autonomy over her body, and it’s her right to decide when to get pregnant. Having premarital sex isn’t a sin; it’s a choice. What’s wrong with a couple having consensual sex? There are a lot more issues to be concerned about—coerced sex and marital rape, for instance. Why doesn’t society call that out?

Shouldn’t society be more concerned about consent and safety in sex than associating taboos with it? Shouldn’t society be more focused on educating women about consent, safety, and boundaries in relationships rather than obsessing over internalised patriarchal norms?

How long are we going to stick to the notion that only marriage entitles a woman to have sex? Why does society get the right to decide what adult women should do with their bodies? Unless women have complete agency over their lives and bodies, women's empowerment will never be wholesome.

Suggested Reading: Stepping Into Whole New World: Swara Bhaskar Announces Pregnancy

Views expressed by the author are their own