On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, actor Arjun Kapoor has shared a heartfelt and thought-provoking message urging men to reconsider their role in protecting and supporting women.
As he prepared to celebrate the festival with his sisters – Anshula, Janhvi and Khushi, Kapoor expressed his discomfort with the traditional narrative that emphasises men as protectors, questioning why society does not focus on creating an environment where women feel inherently safe, rather than relying on the physical presence of men for their security.
He started the video by saying, “So I’m about to go and celebrate Raksha Bandhan with my sisters. It feels really strange to celebrate a festival with what’s happening, which has to do with protecting each other, protecting your sisters, being there for the women in your life, for the women that you love and care for, while we see so much anguish and the lack of understanding and education amongst a lot of men. When we celebrate rakhi, we speak about being a brother.”
“Why aren’t we taught how to make the environment safe enough for all our sisters to roam around without needing a brother? All the time to protect and take care physically to be around. Yes, I know the visual is something we got used to—that the brother is protective or the man is protective—but I think somewhere we need to teach other men that they need to make women feel safe rather than teach men to protect women,” Arjun said.
Kapoor emphasized the need for a shift in how society educates men about their roles in ensuring women’s safety. “It’s a much bigger conversation. I think there’s a lot of education. There’s a lot of conversation, and there’s a lot of basic understanding that is lacking in our ecosystem. I don’t know how much this will change how people think, but it’s definitely something that’s been on my mind. Why have you always told to protect? Why aren’t we told to make them feel safe? It’s something I’ve been thinking about. It’s been going on in my mind for a long time. Yeah, sometimes you feel it’s not overly discussing because people don’t get it, but I just thought I put it in the universe.”
He continued, “And hopefully, even if it affects or resonates with a few people, at least it’s a conversation or a starting point. As a brother, as a man, I feel we need to change the way we perceive women in our lives. I think somewhere, I feel men need to be taught how to allow women to feel safe around them, not just be there to protect them. I think that would be a big lesson if we could make the women around us, the girls, feel safe, not just for their safety, but to stand around them, to live in their lives. I just hope a lot of men think about how to be there for the women in their lives and make them stronger and powerful by making them feel safe.”
Arjun Kapoor will soon be seen in Rohit Shetty’s ‘Singham Again’ alongside Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, Ranveer Singh, and others. The film will hit the theatres on November 1, 2024.
