Karwa Chauth is being celebrated across India today. The festival is a practice where married women fast from dawn till dusk for the safety and longevity of their husbands, and is especially popular in Northern India. It is a tradition that most women take pride in doing and feel that it strengthens the bond between them and their other half.
Lately, there have been reports coming in which labels the tradition as patriarchal or anti-woman. These have not gone down well with Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi who tweeted in support of the festival. He said that those opposing Karwa Chauth and terming it as anti-women are, in fact, opposing the women’s right to choose and live life as per her own terms.
This is not the first instance of the tradition being used by politicians to gain political mileage. Uttar Pradesh government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also announced leave for that all married women teachers engaged in higher, secondary and basic education department. This is for the first time such special provision has been made for married women, Dr Vandana Sharma, education director Higher education, told ANI over the phone.
With inputs from ANI
