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Brut India
  • 4/18/2025
#DearSociety, being a divorcee or a single parent is nothing to be ashamed of.
Transcript
00:00In India, the father's name is very important for any legal document.
00:05We've heard things like,
00:07You are not real family.
00:10Oh, she must be easily available.
00:13Let's avoid her because she'll poach our husband.
00:19Dear society,
00:21It was year 2009.
00:23It was the beginning of a new academic year for my children.
00:27On the first day of school, the teacher asked them about their parents.
00:30My younger one was in tears.
00:33She didn't know what to say.
00:35She came back home absolutely embarrassed.
00:39From that time onwards, I made it a point
00:42to go to school every single year
00:44and let the teacher know that I'm a single parent
00:47so that I could save her from those tears and embarrassment.
00:52Yes, I am a single mom
00:55and I'm a proud single mom.
00:57But it hasn't been an easy journey.
01:00It hasn't been smooth sailing for us.
01:02In India, the father's name is very important for any legal document.
01:07And that's what I think needs to change, which I feel slowly it is.
01:12So as a single mom, you do face those challenges as well.
01:15We have been judged for everything.
01:18From what we are eating, from what we are drinking,
01:21to who we are meeting, to who we are going out with.
01:24The society doesn't leave any stone unturned on this.
01:28But then, at the end of the day,
01:31it is your decision as to how you want to take it up
01:35and how you want to face these challenges.
01:38We've heard things like,
01:41you are not real family.
01:44Oh, she must be easily available.
01:47Let's avoid her because she'll poach our husband.
01:50Hello, that's not the truth.
01:53We are not here to do anything of this type.
01:56Just because I'm divorced,
01:59doesn't mean that I'm single and available.
02:02I have noticed this and I've gone through my own experiences,
02:06that you die socially the minute you are divorced.
02:10People are only giving you pity.
02:13They are only looking at you with self-pity.
02:16Hey there, it's not needed, right?
02:21It gets hard. It isn't easy.
02:24But then, you learn to live with it.
02:27You learn to become the person that you are.
02:30Facing people each and every day,
02:33listening to people talk about you,
02:36the challenges that your children go through,
02:39they aren't easy at all.
02:42Absolutely, they come with their own baggage.
02:45But today, when I see my 24 and my 18,
02:49I just can't help reflecting
02:52how they have turned out over the years,
02:55and the obstacles that they have faced as individuals,
02:59and how beautiful they have turned out to be.
03:02And also, when I see myself,
03:06I think divorce made me actually look at relationships anew.
03:11The decision taught me to be resilient.
03:15It taught me a lot about myself.
03:18It gave me immense clarity
03:20that I would not trade for anything else today.
03:23Divorce made me value relationships.
03:26It made me value myself.
03:28And I'm actually proud, and super proud,
03:32of the way my girls are also going about with it.
03:36So being a single parent,
03:38and being a divorcee in our society,
03:41is no longer a stigma.
03:44There's a whole new world waiting for you.
03:48This tag doesn't define you.
03:50It didn't define me, it won't define you.
03:53Be that strong person standing there,
03:56so that your children look up to you,
03:58and they're proud of who you are.
04:00Because that's the way they are also going to grow up to be.