Here’s How Your Favourite Daily Soap - Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah Promotes Sexism

Source - Amarjula.com

“Sexism has never rendered women powerless. 

It has either suppressed their strength or exploited it.”

     - Bell Hooks

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC) is based on Taarak Mehta's weekly column "Duniya Ne Undha Chasma" in Chitralekha magazine. Asit Kumar Modi is the director and producer.

It aired on Sony Sab on July 28, 2008, and is the longest-running Indian daily sitcom on television in terms of episode count, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Under the guise of presenting an extremely lively livelihood, the promotion of sexism is hard to notice because such shows are ‘normalizing’ it.

Jethalal, whose actions and behavior towards Babitaji (the ‘fair-skinned and thus, ‘the most beautiful woman’) shows too many red flags but the scriptwriters never show the latter voicing out her opinion. 

For instance, in one of the episodes, he disguises himself as a Punjabi waiter and follows her just to ‘male gaze’ at her body in the swimsuit. He even says, 

                                                  “Jalpari hai babitaji, jalpari”

- Jethalal (in his flirtatious voice with seductive background music)

Despite being the owner of the reputed ‘Gada Electronics,’ he is shown in a pathetic light as someone who follows women and passes ridiculous comments which ultimately degrades his position as an honorable man. He skipped going to the shop for a woman who can’t even enjoy without a ‘spy’ around her and over to that, he completely ignored his wife who was with her in the pool. 

Misogyny is promoted too as even the most educated ones (Komal, Babita, and Anjali) are portrayed as housewives whose lives are restricted to the dish they would make for their husbands as soon as they return home. In the credit-card episode, the female characters are put forward as completely oblivious to the technology.

Even when they are introduced to this payment card, they are shown as ‘stupid’ who end up buying a lot without taking care of the limit that their card holds and are regarded as ‘nonsense’ by their husbands. 

The fact is nobody tells them about the latest trend and when they try to do their part, they end up either getting in trouble or quitting it in the name of ‘family responsibility.’

Men of the Gokuldham society are free to go anywhere and with anyone but when it comes to women, they have to plead in front of their husbands to ‘allow’ them to go out.

This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed because they are always confined within the four walls of the house and are denied their freedom whenever they wish to chase their desire.

In episode 1570, Daya bhabhi, the idea bahu is bashed by the three men of the house just because it took longer for her to reach home and it was probably the night time and she couldn’t serve them the food. 

These hungry men instead of asking her whereabouts, belittled her role as a mother, wife, and daughter-in-law. She was forced to feel ashamed of herself as if she had committed a heinous crime. 

This is such an obtuse episode just wishing women to be quiet all the time and only speak “sorry” only if she wants to open her mouth and if she does try to stand up, she fears her elimination from the family as indeed, “sasural hi toh ghar hai, aur kaha jaungi” Unfortunately, the issue doesn’t end here.

Daya Ben is so ‘mindless’ according to the TMKOC team, that she starts her favorite ‘garba’ even when she is all set for a crime-busting operation. Maybe, the show wanted to boost ‘women's empowerment but the writers don’t fail to disappoint us because the tables turned and she is depicted fooling around the criminals in the name of ‘humor’ which truly is ‘dull-witted.’

The viewers need a broader perspective to look at things because no matter how bright a thing looks; it can’t always be diamond. Such shows shouldn’t be in the limelight for a long period because in the reality of the Indian households, while the episodes are being streamed on the television, men of the family are eating the food and women are serving them! 

Thence, young minds tend to welcome these sexist and stereotypical ways into their minds. Instead, they should be introduced to terms such as feminism so that there’s a better society for not only women but also the upcoming generation.

Written By: Aishwarya Neeraj