Mumbai, March 8 Singer-songwriter Shalmali Kholgade, who is known for songs like ‘Pareshaan’, ‘Balam Pichkari’, ‘Latt Lag Gayi’, has shared that for her equality tantamounts to the availability of a level playing field.
The singer spoke with IANS on the occasion of the International Women's Day on Saturday, and shared her thoughts on achieving equality in the society and how women can be empowered in the digital age.
The singer recollected an incident where actress Saie Tamhankar spoke about how she was ignored by a marble vendore during her purchase.
Talking about the same, Shalmali told IANS, “I recently saw an interview of Saie Tamhankar in which she enacted how a marble vendor refused to consider her as a potential buyer. When she took a male friend along, the vendor only made eye contact with him while making his sales pitch. I found myself nodding vigorously as I watched that clip”.
She further mentioned, “There are still instances in our everyday life, that women are considered incapable of being in certain roles and making big decisions, especially financial ones. That’s where I find equality in how we view both genders becomes paramount. Equality to me is the availability of a level playing ground”.
The discrimination between men and women is more intense in the interiors of the country where women still struggle daily. The singer also spoke about how one can lend a helping hand to these women, as she pointed out the importance of education in such a scenario.
She told IANS, “I believe education, and within that, logic, is at the centre of things. We are in the habit of not questioning things. If education in the interiors increases awareness of the outside world, and encourages curiosity we could fight age old customs. Our media and films can also help educate both the sexes on how we can live together with dignity”.
She also spoke about the dichotomy of cinema which talks about female agency but also ironically benefits from the objectification of women in “item songs”.
Shalmali said, “I’ve never been a fan of the ‘item song’ culture that’s been around for a while now. It’s actually most often the hit song within that film. Having said that, the female body and its sex appeal is a natural occurrence. But to limit the woman’s role to just her appearance is what I have a bigger problem with. An attractive woman can also be intelligent and can be treated with dignity”.
As time progresses with technological advancements, do the ideological and emotional gaps between men and women tend to widen and make it difficult to achieve equality?
Shalmali told IANS, “I feel otherwise. I find more women in my surroundings today doing roles that were once only a man’s. For example, recently at a show, I found a girl in the sound team who was helping with the backline. I first thought she was part of the event’s team, but when I asked her, she told me she wants to be a systems engineer”.
“There are next to no sound engineers and light engineers who’re women. But as I watched this girl, I saw a different future”, she added.
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