New Delhi: Veteran Bollywood actor Zeenat Aman, who has been appreciated by netizens for her honest posts on Instagram, shared a reflection on motherhood, feminism, and the complexities of navigating societal expectations in her latest post.
In a heartfelt and candid post, the veteran actor delves into the intricacies of motherhood, feminism, and the challenges of navigating societal expectations. The renowned figure shared an incident from the 90s, shedding light on her experience raising sons amidst the spotlight of her own fame.
Recounting an episode, Aman revealed how one of her sons, deeply angered by a disrespectful comment about her, took it upon himself to defend her honour with a cricket bat.
She wrote, “I’m much too jaded to imagine a perfect world, but I’m also enough of a dreamer to believe that it can get better. It couldn’t have been easy growing up as my sons. Though I had stepped away from the limelight by the time they were in school, they weren’t immune to the occasional crude comment, vulgar question or salacious news article about me.”
Describing the incident, Aman wrote, "It was late afternoon in Bandra in the 90s. The boys were playing at the entrance of the building with the neighbourhood kids. I wasn’t expecting them back for a few hours, but suddenly the door flew open and one seething son stormed into the house. I looked on puzzled as he jammed his helmet onto his head, strapped on his batting pads, and picked up his cricket bat. He brandished said bat and sombrely informed me that he was going to avenge my honour. You see, one of his playmates had used some particularly colourful vocabulary to describe me. If he hadn’t been so distraught I would have laughed, but his indignation touched me. I stopped him from unleashing his anger on his friends of course. And that night I had the first of many deep conversations with my sons about men, women, and the ways of the world."
In her post, Aman also took a stance against conventional norms, challenging societal views on stigmatised professions such as sex work. She advocated for a reevaluation of attitudes, emphasising equal respect and understanding for all individuals.
She wrote, “None of us can be flawless in our feminism. Even here the mere suggestion of sex work is offensive, though I don’t see why a sex worker deserves any less respect than you and I. Then there’s the simple fact that even when women are belittled, it still falls on them to carry the emotional baggage of boys and men.”
Zeenat Aman has two sons Zahaan and Azhaan Khan. She married Mazhar Khan in 1985. Mazhar died in 1998.