Bharat Matrimony, the famous matrimonial service provider has come up with an advertisement which it shows the Hindu festival of Holi in a negative light.
The ad shows a lady having her face smeared with colours washing them off with water. As she washes off the colours, the colours red and yellow (akin to turmeric and vermilion) are shown going down the drain.
The visuals then cut to show the lady’s face marked with bruises all over eyes, forehead, nose and the mouth suggesting that the lady was abused when she played Holi.
“Some colours don’t wash away easy. Harassment during Holi leads to immense trauma. Today, a third of women who’ve faced this trauma, have stopped playing Holi.”, the ad claims citing a 2021 Times of India report on women’s safety during Holi.
“This Holi, let’s choose to celebrate Women’s Day”, the ad says asking people to mark the global holiday instead of the Hindu festival and later goes on to add “And make Holi safer for women”.
The ad concludes by saying “BeChoosy” which seems to be implying that people have to choose between celebrating Holi and women’s day.
A lot of women have stopped playing Holi due to the trauma they experience through harassment. Watch this video that brings this to life in a hard hitting way.
This Holi, let’s celebrate Women’s Day, and choose to keep them safe everyday. #BeChoosy #Holi #Holi2023 #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/mG4ozbb0IP