New Delhi: Commenting on the recent ‘row’ kicked up by the advertisement released by Dabur India that showcased same-sex couple celebrating Karwa Chauth, Supreme Court Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that “public intolerance” had led to the forced withdrawal of the ad.
According to LiveLaw, he attributed this to the gulf between laws aimed at removing social inequities and the ground reality. “There are real-life situations which show that there is a great divergence between ideals of the law and the real state of the society today,” he said, speaking during the launch of legal awareness programmes by the National Legal Service Authority for the empowerment of women nationwide.
The commercial in question, Dabur’s Fem Fairness Cream, had earned the wrath of the Hindu right-wing for showing two women celebrating Karwa Chauth. In addition to trolling, Dabur India received threats from BJP leaders, including Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra, who threatened to initiate legal action. Dabur India soon withdrew the commercial and issued an unconditional apology for “unintentionally hurting people’s sentiments”.
Also read: Dabur Pulls Down Same-Sex Karwa Chauth Ad After Online Abuse, Threats from BJP Leaders
Speaking on the issue, Justice Chandrachud said, “All of you would know of this advertisement which a company was required to pull down. It was an advertisement was for Karwa Chauth of a same-sex couple. It had to be withdrawn on the ground of public intolerance.”
Underscoring that constitution has remedies for deep-rooted inequalities and patriarchy, he lamented that there were examples of injustice against women every day.
“Our Constitution is a transformative document that sought to remedy the structural inequalities rooted in patriarchy. It has become a powerful tool to secure material entitlements and provide public affirmations of dignity and equality of women. Legislation like the Domestic Violence Act, Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act have been enacted to achieve the goal of fulfilling the constitutional rights of women. However, every day in our lives as judges of the Supreme Court, we come across injustice against women,” he observed.
Justice Chandrachud emphasised the importance of educating young men about gender rights in order to change the mindset of society. “Awareness about the rights of women can be truly meaningful if that awareness is created amongst the younger generation of men in our society.”
While highlighting the notion of intersectionality and the importance of its awareness among both men and women, Chandrachud said, “The more we realise that the category of women encompasses various social, economic and political disadvantages, the more we will be able to cater to their individualised and actual needs. True freedom for women, in other words, is truly intersectional.”
