Ever since Rhea Chakraborty has been arrested for consuming drugs by the NCB, the discussion around the whole issue has become more polarised than it was before. Which means that many people have come out in support of the actor, demanding nothing but an unbiased trial. For the same reason, many from her industry have been sharing this quote.
Now, amid all that’s happening, there is a persistent question: Why has this entire issue become about patriarchy? Even people strongly opposing what is happening with Rhea can be heard asking it.
It is unjust, sure, but how is it patriarchal? I’ll tell you how.
It is patriarchal because there is no proven evidence of Rhea’s involvement in the case of Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide. Still, she is being treated as a criminal. Because that is what our society does. It blames women for the failures of men.
Rhea @Tweet2Rhea has been disproportionately punished. This is also an extension of society's belief that in relationship, the woman is responsible for the man. Relationships can be toxic. But y is rhea being vilified without proof. Ofc, through the proof of patriarchy https://t.co/wuVukPzWJy
— Tooba Towfiq (@tooba_tweets) September 8, 2020
In this context, Facebook user Ritika Bhattacharya narrated what happened with actor Rekha, whose husband Mukesh died by suicide in 1990. He used Rekha’s dupatta to hang himself, and what followed were a series of events quite similar to what is happening today, 3 decades later.
Rekha, reportedly, was oblivious to the fact that Mukesh was suffering from chronic depression. However, after he passed away, everyone turned against her.
As per the post, Mukesh’s mother said, “Woh daayan mere bete ko kha gayi”. This, sadly enough, is something I have heard many women being told after their husband’s unfortunate demise. Because the moment a woman is married ‘into’ a family, it is her ‘responsibility’ to bring good luck and long life for the man. If anything bad happens to him, it automatically becomes her fault.
Anyway, this is not where the ordeal stopped for her. In a very typical move, she was called a gold-digger by Mukesh’s brother. “He could not tolerate what Rekha was doing to him. Now what does she want, does she want our money?”, he asked.
The industry also abandoned her because apparently, she was no longer a good fit for roles that portray women as ‘Bharat ki nari or insaf ki devi’. Those are reportedly filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s words.
Now imagine this. A woman has lost her husband. She is grieving. And the entire world, instead of holding her hand through the process of healing, blames her.
The press writes headlines like The Black Widow and The Macabre Truth behind Mukesh’s Suicide, the family looks at her as a ‘witch’ and the industry she worked in, for years, thinks there is no hope for her because people won’t like to see her as a demure, obedient character
You see the patriarchy, now?
While Sushant deserves justice, it doesn’t mean that Rhea doesn’t deserve an impartial trial. Those two things are mutually exclusive.
