Us desis often talk about how our moms used to beat us as kids using the ‘flying chappal’ or ‘jhado’ to keep us grounded and in check. While for some it would come across as normal, plain humor reminiscing the old times, others would see it as child abuse.
Recently, Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani took to Instagram and posted a quote that read how her mom never took her to a psychologist but stabilized her aura with one tight slap.
In the captions she mentioned that the post was shared with her by her mother.
In the captions she wrote, “My ma gleefully shared this with me … aur kis kis ki mataji ne aise aura clean ki hai kripaya haath uthayein ??♀️??♀️??p.s—- Ma ? love u ❤️”
People who related with her post laughed out loud. Some, including Bollywood actor Anupam Kher also said, “Meri mata ji to abhi bhi aisa he karti hai.”
However, her post was also met with a lot of backlash. A handful of people online alleged that the child development minister was glorifying abuse against children.
wow. this is horrific ignorance from a union minister. on so many levels – mental health, what a psychologist does, child abuse (so many who come to therapy have been physically abused by parents as children), the need for therapy. just. amazed at this. https://t.co/9R2qLZdkQs
— Gayatri (@G_y_tri) December 21, 2021
Child development minister Smriti Irani glorifying abuse against children. Shameful pic.twitter.com/32y0igEctN
— Sankul Sonawane (@Sankul333) December 21, 2021
Lmao making jokes about abuse :)) the way no one expected better from her https://t.co/hzOk8Z1pBD
— ??????? ??????.? (@xcherryywinex) December 21, 2021
This has been doing the rounds for a bit. I think it's the worst joke of 2021. This is how society normalises trauma inducing behavior. A leader should be known by the words they take lightly enough to retweet. Not surprised though. #Fascists are a result of poor parenting. https://t.co/uXNKDG73K4
— anita vachharajani (@AniVachh) December 21, 2021
You’ve got to be kidding me!! Is she for real? Mental health isn’t a joke! Besides psychologists play various roles right from trauma counselling to helping people cope with depression, anxiety etc.,! She is nuts, she needs a psychologist ASAP! https://t.co/Uc8m37u7qP
— Omar Abbas Hyat | عمر عباس حیات (@OmarHayat_Auth) December 21, 2021
Such post makes years of de stigmatisation of therapy futile. Indian family believes in authoritarian parents to be most effective which has unhealthy repercussion throughout some individuals life. Domestic violence in name of discipline is what she is preaching here. https://t.co/3AtYolvhEd
— liyateekay (@liyateekay1) December 21, 2021
For them, violence is a lifestyle. We’re nearing 2022 and the Union Minister for women & child development is denying science, mental health. And moreover, spreading notions of child abuse. Remember all this in 2024. https://t.co/zufy7cByNl
— Raj Ajay Pandya (@RajAjayPandya) December 21, 2021
However, some also said that this was pretty normal back then. Beatings from their moms also helped them be disciplined.
I personally think that a few tight slaps from my mom helped me become a better student. Without those slaps, I might not have been able to get scholarships to pursue my undergraduate and graduate education overseas. https://t.co/qGC0PdBhOc
— Prodigal Son (@nongratadesi) December 21, 2021
Once my mom slapped me and it resulted in stitches on my eyebrows, idk this was pretty normal back then https://t.co/TrNQJePAnG
— Clostri (@proamcarfovit) December 21, 2021
Where is the lie bro? You don’t need Psychologist to treat your 7 yrs old ?Do chapet maro akal thikane aa jati hai https://t.co/fZmcRfxKBU
— Prathmesh. ? (@iprathmeshs) December 21, 2021
After her post received massive basklash online, she posted this on her Instagram profile:
View this post on Instagram
What do you think of this episode?