Published 12:24 IST, April 1st 2020
Re-telecast of Ramayan sparks row on Twitter as netizens debate on women empowerment
With Ramayan returning to TV, netizens have sparked up a new debate on Twitter. Users are arguing their take on women empowerment in the show. Details here.
Advertisement
With the announcement of lockdown, Doordarshan confirmed the return of Ramanand Sagar's popular mythological serial Ramayan. With the return of shows like Ramayan and Mahabharat, the Indian audience has a chance to revisit the epic story all over again. But this return has also sparked up interesting discussions on the social media platforms. The discussion over the past 24 hours has been centring around Kaikeyi and her maid Manthara.
Ramayan on DD triggers feminism debate on Twitter
People have been hurling abuses at her for being so evil and ruining Ram's life. There has also been a new debate that focuses on the way women have been portrayed in the series. While some felt that Ramayan did not mete out fair treatment to its female characters, others felt the storyline champions women's empowerment.
We were so progressive even 7000 yrs back, its amazing. Sita was very intelligent & warrior woman. Kaikeyi wasnt only a warrior, she was Saarthi of King Dashrath in Devasur sangram, which was not at all an easy task. True women empowerment. #Ramayan
— Shatrunjay (@vatsalkotia) March 31, 2020
Hailing the storyline of the show, one user lauded the country for so progressive even 7,000 years ago and hailed Sita for being a warrior. Another one had a take that Kaikeyi and Satyabhama were the first female drivers of the country. Other users reminded the viewers that Kaikeyi was no pushover as a character.
Ramayana and equality. Guys, remember that Kaikeyi was the first woman in combat.
— It is called Covid (@MatKashbakihai) March 29, 2020
Kaikeyi was the most unfortunate character in the entire epic. Poor lady loved Ram more than her own son, went to battle for her King, was also probably the most intelligent of the Queens & yet, in 1 moment of clouded thinking, she ruined it for everyone. What a beautiful lesson!
— M-pax (@Adi_Mpax) March 31, 2020
But not everyone felt that the show upheld the women's empowerment. Calling Kaikeyi the most unfortunate character in the series, a user talked about a beautiful lesson. Another user took the debate to a new level by talking pseudo-feminism.
Kaikeyi is a good example that a woman can ruin man's life even without Pseudo feminism.#Ramayana #Ayodhyakaand
— possessive freak (@shubuniversal) March 31, 2020
Have you ever not wondered how the story would have unfolded in its own different indifferent manner if the pen was given to Kaikeyi or Manthara, to Urmila or Kaushalya, to Surpnakha or Mandodari? (2/3)
— Tina Rajashree Singha (@RajashreeTina) March 28, 2020
One of the users had an interesting observation to make about the show. The user said that Ramayan would have turned out to be totally different had it been written by a female character from the series. But even three decades later, the show has managed to retain its magic and watching the show every morning seems to have already become a daily ritual in many households.
12:23 IST, April 1st 2020