The latest Holi ad from Bharat Matrimony, an online matrimonial platform, has received a lot of backlash from social media users. Twitter users have asked the matrimonial site to take down the ad that they consider to be anti-Hindu. They have also asked the company to issue an apology.
Let's celebrate this Women's Day Holi by creating safer and more inclusive spaces for women. It is important to recognize the challenges that women face in public spaces and create a society that respects their well-being today. BharatMatrimony BeChoosy, tweeted the matrimonial site.
Bharat Matrimony's Holi ad shows a woman whose face is coloured with Holi gulal. She then proceeds to wash her face with water. As she cleans her face, there are bruises and wounds that appear to be signs of domestic abuse. The juxtaposition of the bright, coloured face and the bruised face was an attempt by the site to highlight domestic abuse.
Some colours don't wash away easily. Harassment due to Holi leads to immense trauma. Today a third of women who have been affected by this trauma stopped playing Holi. This Women's Day lets you celebrate Holi in a way that is safe and inclusive for women, run across the screen as the ad ends.
The Bharat Matrimony Holi ad received a lot of backlash, with one user asking them to take down the ad or face a campaign by Hindus. I will never recommend anyone on your portal. I promise you, I will never recommend anyone! I will show this post to them, and I am sure they will be convinced why not to use this website! One user said, "It is disappointing to see that you're equating our festivals with harassment." Let's spread love, not hate sic. How dare you link a social message with the Hindu festival of Holi. What does domestic abuse have to do with Holi? According to a user, women harassment is not a festival related activity, but companies like you unnecessarily link such things to Hindu festivals. This comes after another Holi ad that received much criticism and was taken down. Food delivery unicorn Swiggy came under fire recently for a billboard that said the correct use of an egg is for an omelette and sunny side-up and not on someone's head. It had also used the hashtag bura mat khelo don t play bad a play on bura mat maano, Holi hai don t feel bad, it was Holi The food delivery platform took down the billboard as HinduPhobicSwiggy trended on social media.