It’s surprising the kind of world we live in. A world, where caliber is overshadowed by gender. A world, where we talk about empowerment through gender equality and equal pay for equal work but seldom implement it.
This is the story of a 24-year old travel blogger, graphic designer, and photographer, Natasha Sharma who was allegedly prey to one such incident of gender bias.
According to an open letter Natasha Sharma wrote to Shahnaz Husain and supplementary articles, this is how the issue unfolded:
The Incident:
On May 4th, 2018, Sharma was called to the office of Shahnaz Husain Group at Nehru Place in New Delhi, for a job interview for the post of a photographer. On 5th May, she went and had an hour-long conversation with the HR department, regarding the details of the shoot.
She was then taken to Husain’s house and was made to wait for over an hour till Shahnaz Husain decided to show up. She saw her and impulsively decided that Natasha Sharma was unfit for the job. Sharma says “She didn’t see my portfolio, she didn’t see my CV and straight away turned to the manager.”
Hussain allegedly said to the manager that,“I don’t want a woman to do my shoot. I don’t think women can do photography. Please assign her some other desk job but not this. Later there are issues with them regarding security and working late hours. Please get a male photographer for me.”
The Reaction:
Natasha stood up for herself and said that she had been in this field for a while and had no issues with the timings and late working hours. Husain’s own team tried to convince her, that Sharma is best suited for the job.
However, this didn’t change her opinion. She then went on to hire a man who was less experienced than Sharma for the job.
Husain’s team apparently even apologised to Natasha Sharma.
The Aftermath:
This obviously outraged Natasha. It would outrage anyone. She then wrote them a strongly worded email, expressing her disdain and disgust for what had happened, questioning Husain’s decision profusely. Here’s how the email went:
Natasha even wrote an open letter to Shahnaz Husain expressing her disbelief and anger. She questioned Shahnaz’s morals on how she could uphold gender biases like these and said that women are flourishing in every industry they’re a part of.
She then updated her Facebook status, which sparked a thread of uproar and agitation against Husain.
Also Read: This Creepy Balding 30s Guy In A CP Starbucks Told A DU Student “I Can Be Your Daddy”
Shahnaz Husain: A role model?
A strong, independent woman, a leading female entrepreneur, the name and face of India’s leading cosmetic brand and a recipient of the Padma Shri. Shahnaz Husain seems like the ultimate role model.
A woman who has achieved great heights in her career, worked tirelessly and perhaps even at ungodly hours, stopping another woman from doing all that, just because she’s a woman, seems a little ironical doesn’t it?
Husain being a woman, treating another talented woman like this is the saddest part.
While this story is doing the rounds, there has been no response from Shahnaz Husain and her team.
It is extremely disheartening to see that gender biases exist, to such a great extent in Indian society. Where women are judged on the basis of their gender and not on the basis of their capabilities and talents.
Often times, men and women applying for the same posts, having the same qualifications are treated differently.
Why?
By virtue of their genders.
This is visible in many institutions across India and the world and is rooted in corporate social psychology.
Sources: Youth Ki Awaaz, ENTERTALES, Wittyfeed
Image Source: Google Images
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