Smoking is a big issue in India and when a woman is smoking it is considered a sin. Why is it so? I am an individual, I can take decisions, I can work but why can’t I smoke? We see men smoking in public, and no one judges them but when we see a woman lighting up a cigarette, everyone around her starts judging her.
In India there are certain things people do not expect a woman to do and smoking is one of them. When we buy a pack of cigarette, we all know that it is injurious to our health, but for a woman it is injurious to her character too. Women who smoke are often considered a bad influence but if we go back in time, the history tells us that most women who used to smoke were considered as Icons of Freedom.
I have seen people judging women when they smoke, jaunts like “character-less” is often used for them. If she is smoking then who are we to judge her nature and character? She might have many reasons to smoke, maybe she is in distress or maybe she simply enjoys doing it. Why don’t we question men when they smoke? The society cannot accept women doing things which are done by men. Women have to hide and light up a cigarette so that people don’t judge her character. Her morals get questioned if she smokes or they even ask that “Is that what your parents have taught you?”
We have seen in the movies that a woman who plays an antagonist smokes and this creates an image in people’s mind that women who smoke must be a “bitch” or a “villain”. That is not the right thing as we cannot judge one’s nature and character just because she is smoking. What they do is nobody’s concern but still the stereotypical mind set of people around is that Women should not smoke because that defines their bad upbringing.
The society we live in has been patriarchal and shall always be. Men who work hard and are successful can smoke but a woman cannot. Their mentality is that woman should not be doing things what men does whether it is smoking or drinking alcohol. ”Whore” is the term used by the people who see a woman smoking and I have had a firsthand experience with that. Other girls who do not smoke judge me to be a bad influence. Girls who do not smoke avoid the girls who do just because they do not want to be tagged like her. I am not saying all women should smoke but if they wish to then we are no one to question her or give her a bad reputation. Some men out there in the society think if a woman is smoking she must be easy to get because she is already spoilt or as they say “sudhari hui nai hai”. If a woman smokes that does not mean you can sleep with her, her actions are not provoking anyone.
I recently joined college and faced the same issues, as girls won’t talk to me when they see me smoking. Some men would judge me and think that they can easily get me. We have to consider woman’s wishes as well as it is her decision to smoke, but it is not our job to judge her for doing that. Smoking with other men does not make her a “slut” or “easy to get”.
We have to change our mentality in order to make it easier for women to do what they like. Smoking is highly harmful, it has many harmful effects. It damages our lungs, causes cancer and Asthma and even leads to bad pregnancies. Nor am I encouraging other women to start smoking, but some women do smoke and they know the consequences and we are no one to judge her actions and give her a bad name. It is their choice in the end and we should respect that.
