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EXCLUSIVE - Jennifer Winget has a powerful take on feminism: It's not man-hating when you fight for women
Jennifer Winget opens up about her idea of feminism, says, "Some of us may cringe at the word Feminism - but Feminism is gender equality and Men, gender equality is your issue too."
Jennifer Winget has been a trailblazer in true sense when it comes to breaking the glass ceiling and making brave choices on Indian Television. She is that Dhaakad soul who has captivated everyone's hearts with her charismatic onscreen presence and talent. When we talk about Jennifer, it is not just about her beauty or her style but also about how terrific an actor she is. Did we forget to add that she is also one of the highest paid and followed actors too? Well, she showcases the power of women on Indian Television.
There is certainly no limitations to what our women can do and our Television actresses' are proving to a flagbearer when it comes to bringing in a change in how the audience pursue women in society. How? By taking up challenging and progressive characters and socially relevant ones. From playing Riddhima to Maya, Jennifer has pushed her boundaries time and again and stayed relevant for more than a decade now.
This International Women's Day, we celebrate women and their freedom to choose. Jennifer who is known for her straightforwardness, in a quick interview with PINKVILLA, spoke on feminism, how does she think women are breaking the mould and changing the way Television sees women.
We asked Jennifer on how does she see the status of women elevate over the years in the industry per se and on how does she see women breaking the glass ceiling given the prejudices attached to them especially on the small screen? To this, Jennifer said, "TV has always been a very strong and powerful medium for women. Being part of the TV industry for so long, I have met and learned a lot from some exceptional women, be it actors, writers or creatives. Women have always been portrayed as righteous and sometimes may I add a bit too delicate, dainty and frail to garner sympathy from the audiences. But now, I think, times are changing. Never the less, we still have a long way to go."
Winget further added, "TV is nothing without its women. And I remember watching some women on TV who inspired me a lot. From Mandira Bedi to Smriti Irani to Ekta Kapoor; just to name a few. And because TV has such an unbelievable viewership from all over the world, we need to keep inspiring and growing all the time. There’s no end to that."
When asked the one thing about the industry she would like to change when it comes to its approach towards female actors, Jennifer stated, "I think the industry today has stepped up from what it was even a few years ago. It has grown to become very forward, putting out the realistic cinema. I love that we are slowly but surely moving from regressive to the progressive cinema and are not shying away from choosing and showcasing powerful women protagonists over male leads, and more so for their true selves in the world today."
Ask her if she believes in the concept of women ruling the world one day, Jennifer asks, "What’s ruling the world!?! And Why not??!" while adding, "But I bet we have bigger plans for ourselves than that... that’s a top perspective, but there’s so much more that goes deeper than that. Reducing the carbon footprint, doing our bit for the environment, extending ourselves beyond our professions to causes close to heart!"
Lastly, Jennifer shared her idea of feminism, the word misused and misunderstood by many.
She said, "I shouldn't have to say much, for a lot has already been said; yet it’s never enough. Women Empowerment, Women’s rights, are actually basic human rights. Some of us may cringe at the word Feminism - but Feminism is gender equality and Men, gender equality is your issue too."
In a powerful note, she adds, "We can’t harp on it enough or maybe we’re ALL not harping on it enough! But to end gender equality, we will all need to be involved. Gender stereotypes pull us down as much as they do to you. Why aren’t we fighting for each other and empowering the other? My point here is, we’re in this together, men and women alike. It's not just women who need to advocate this but our boys and men need to be ambassadors of it too.
It's not man-hating when you fight for women, guys! And I say this to the lovely ladies and the boys and men too.
We’re all about hashtags and words today, but when are we each in our own way going to stand for the ideas and ambitions behind these words. And it starts early – parents love your daughters as much as your sons, schools don’t limit girls, Girls don’t drop out of what you love to do because someone told you boys would do it better, mentors don’t think we’d go less far coz one day we may give birth. We’ll have to all do something."
"I’ll end with a famous quote by Edmund Burke - Remember that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men (and may I add, women) to do nothing," Jennifer ended.
We are completely moved by her answer, what about you? Let us know in the comments below.
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