Femina salutes five unstoppable women who broke the bridal rules!

Women have always been expected to conform to certain beauty standards. Empowering women to look beyond the ‘typical’ definition of a beautiful woman, Femina, in its latest issue, throws the spotlight on five women who faced beauty biases based on body type, skin colour, height, scars and hair type, and showcases how they rose above all adversities to be comfortable in their own skin. These awe-inspiring stories, revolving around the lives of these five women, have been curated from Dove’s #Stopthebeautytest campaign to create a world and inspiration for the reader where she can be her confident, beautiful and empowered self.

The latest Dove campaign offers the reader hard-hitting, real-life stories of beauty. An alarming 9 out of 10 single women in India feel that they are judged and rejected based on their looks during the marriage process. Furthermore, 68% claimed that rejections based on beauty during the arranged marriage process impacted their confidence. With an aim to end such pre-conceived notions and stereotypes, the March 2021 issue of Femina is an eye-opener for all women out there who will be emboldened and empowered reading the stories of these five trailblazers.

Deeksha Singh, a news editor from Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah, recollects how she was treated differently due to the birthmark on her face. “When I was a child, I really enjoyed dancing but, despite being a talented dancer, I was always made to stand at the back of the class on the basis of my appearance. People were very insensitive over the years – they would verbally mock me as well as physically pick and poke the spot asking me what had happened to my face.’’ Recalling the amount of advice given to her by her family, Deeksha says, ‘’Being young and bogged down by the criticism, I used to try all sorts of remedies – I’ve used peel-off masks thinking that would erase my birthmark.’’

Another story is of Rajeshwari Roy, a Delhi-based dietician who was born and raised in Assam. She shares about how she was turned down by a prospective groom due to a sole focus on her height and without any consideration of her merits and education. “He shot me down after merely looking at my photograph – rejecting me on the basis of being too short. It was truly cringe-worthy for me to witness well-educated men abiding by the beauty stereotypes of women needing to be tall, fair, and thin,” says Rajeshwari.

A naturally curly-haired girl, Mumbai-based makeup artist Hemali Dave saw her hair be the subject of constant curiosity and criticism during meeting potential grooms in her early twenties. “The boy’s mother also started talking about my hair,” Hemali recalls. “Neither of my parents have curly hair, and she went on to comment that I didn’t resemble either of them, almost indicating that I was adopted. They didn’t want to know anything about me or my interests; they solely focused on and criticized the way I looked. It was demeaning.”

The result of the negative comments that girls hear at a young age is why a large number of them feel less confident about the way they look and are likely to experience stress, anxiety, and depression. “I was a chubby child,” shares Mahak Wadhwa, an MBBS student based in New Delhi.
“I was always told that if I lose weight now, it won’t create a problem in the future because when you grow up it is harder to lose weight.”

However, for Noor Zahira, a freelance journalist hailing from Bengaluru, her breakthrough moment took place when she knew she had had enough of being colour shamed. Speaking about the incident that occurred at an office lunch table, Noor shares, “One of my colleagues went on to say how surprised he was that a green kurta suited me. This comment triggered another colleague, who brought it to his attention that it was extremely inappropriate to pass such a caustic remark about how I look. Later that night, I reflected on this and I realised I needed to take a stand for myself and not be silent.”

To read the full stories of these real-life heroes and how they went on to #Stopthebeautytest, catch the latest edition of Femina, on stands now!