On Wednesday, 23rd August 2023 India erupted with celebrations as Chandryaan -3‘s lander module successfully touched down at the south polar region of the moon. With this remarkable achievement India became the first country to soft land in the south polar region and once again asserted its prowess in the field of space exploration.
This achievement resonates not only as a scientific triumph but also as a testament to the dedication and resilience of India’s space community. The nation’s collective pride swelled as it took this giant leap forward in unravelling the mysteries of the cosmos.
Amidst the jubilation surrounding the Chandrayaan-3 mission, a concerning trend emerged on social media platforms. Some X (Twitter) users have chosen to divert the spotlight from the mission’s scientific excellence to the attire worn by women scientists involved in the mission.
An image of women scientists at ISRO was viral across the internet for all the wrong reasons. The powerful image of the women scientists associated with ISRO and mission Chandrayaan was shared with captions like “Girls, this is what real feminism looks like” among a few.
Ironically, this narrative was shared by the verified handles of women users on X.
One user named Sakshi wrote “Dear girls, this is what feminism looks like.”
Another user named Deepika wrote :
Other users echoed similar sentiments:
Another user said:
The iconic image of women scientists which has the power to inspire a generation of girls to take up STEM; was used as a sexist commentary on women’s clothing. It should not come as a surprise that only women’s clothing was at the centre of the scrutiny and not the male scientists who were comfortably wearing Western formal shirts and pants for the event.
These X users have been consistently notorious when it comes to defining a “real woman” – the one who is traditional and rooted to her culture and manages her home and work perfectly. One verified user named ‘swatic12’ even wrote ‘Sab important hai, moon bhi, ghar ki responsibilities bhi and no one better than Indian woman who can handle it all. Respect!‘
While these users were busy bashing, attacking and teaching “uncultured, jeans-wearing women” the meaning of “real feminism”, they forgot that they themselves are reducing the achievements of women scientists at ISRO to their attire.
These users forgot that they were celebrating the attire of the women scientists instead of their immense contribution to the space mission itself. They inadvertently downplayed their achievements, undermining the education, training, and hard work behind the mission’s success. Applauding attire over professional achievements belittles expertise and contributions. It implies attire is more deserving of celebration than scientific feats.
Time and again what such social media “influencers” fail to understand is that feminism is not just defined by attires; it’s a fight for gender equality that spans generations. A generation of outspoken, non-traditional, unconventional and rebellious women who fought for our generation to have the rights and freedom that they wished for.
So instead of preaching what real feminism is, such users should focus on reading and becoming more gender sensitive. They can probably learn a thing or two from ISRO Chairman, S Somnath who after the successful landing of the Chandrayaan 3 proudly shared the stage with the core team behind the mission which had Kalpana K, deputy project director of the mission.
Instead of using the occasion of great scientific achievement to belittle other women these social media ‘influencers’ should have used the power of their purchased blue ticks to tell the world about the Chandrayaan mission, and its objectives and send a message to aspiring scientists to dream big.