Alia Bhatt's pregnancy announcement puts spotlight on stigma associated with sex before marriage

Soon after Alia Bhatt announced that she was expecting her first child with husband Ranbir Kapoor , the internet was flooded with memes of all kinds - while some celebrated the announcement, others shamed the couple for being pregnant in less than three months of their grand wedding at Vaastu. With memes comparing Ranbir to the superhero Flash, calling him ‘the fastest man alive’ to those calling Ranbir-Alia the brand ambassadors of ‘10 minute grocery delivery’, the memes had rather sexist undertones.

What was particularly disturbing though, was the inability of the netizens and Twitterati to digest that the couple had the gumption to announce to the world that they were expecting a child within three months of their marriage, as opposed to the customary nine-month waiting period. No matter how progressive and well-informed Twitter may pretend to be, it harshly judged Alia-Ranbir for not conforming to the regressive norm of announcing a pregnancy at the right time.

There is much chatter today about safe sex and the importance of using contraception to avoid unplanned pregnancies. However, as opposed to celebrating the couple for their rather bold move of breaking the norm and starting a conversation about bodily autonomy, Twitter not only shamed them, but did so slyly - without being too direct or ‘in-your-face’ but being mean enough to drive the point home - if a couple commits the cardinal sin of not planning their baby, they will be shamed.

What was particularly disturbing though, was the rather harsh judgment directed at the couple for having sex before marriage. Engaging in sexual intercourse outside of wedlock is often seen with disdain in India and frowned upon by the moral police. Especially if it is a celebrity couple, they are shamed left, right and center, something which could be seen when cricketer Hardik Pandya and Nataša Stanković announced the arrival of their baby. Ranbir-Alia, too, got their fair share of brickbats from detractors after the announcement, except no social media commentator jumped to their defense.

The duo has been open about their relationship for years and they were still shamed for having sex outside of the wedlock. If a couple as privileged as Ranbir-Alia, with the power of media and the PR at their disposal, is shamed for something as basic as having a baby, it only shows that the rest of us lesser mortals, will be dealt with much more scrutiny if we dared to go the Alia-Ranbir way.

And then, of course, there is the shame associated with a woman exercising free will and having a baby when she wants to have one and refusing to wait for the right time. In hindsight, if one were to reflect on Alia-Ranbir’s rather sudden and unexpected wedding which took place at Vaastu in April, one is forced to think - did they get married solely to save themselves from the trolling and the judgemental glares of the society? Was the sudden marriage meant to give legitimacy to their child?

This, of course, is conjecture. But it wouldn’t be surprising if the above assumption was true given how the duo is being shamed even though they announced their pregnancy after tying the knot.

Someone’s pregnancy announcement is not an opportunity to make a meme or topical branded ads. It certainly isn’t an opportunity to make content or take jibes at how ‘fast’ the couple was with baby making.

Let’s respect their choice and free will and not encroach on their reproductive rights.

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