News Desk |
The Indian advertisement of ‘Comfort Conditioner’ brand has challenged gender roles in their new advertisement. The makers have endeavored to show that household chores including washing clothes are not be specific to girls but even boys can wash clothes without any shame.
The initial message of this advertisement was to highlight that culture and home environment are significant factors in reinforcing gender roles.
The ad shows that gender roles are not binding and can be altered through upbringing as the mother is seen teaching his son how to wash clothes in the advertisement instead of her daughter.
The media plays an extremely influential role in Pakistan’s society. Regardless of whether the media is influenced by the dominant beliefs of today’s culture, or if it determines them, the weight that advertisements carry on individual’s behavior is tangible in our society.
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The advertisements have an undeniable power to connect with the conscience of the people. A one-minute advertisement has provided a new scope for parents to nurture their kids. Advertisements can offer solutions to many problems that females have to confront in the society at different stages in life like sexual harassment, biases at home and in the workplace, and imbalances in their relationships with men.
The comfort conditioner ad also contains the message for young boys who feel shame in doing household chores.
On the sidelines, it tells that the alteration of gender-roles is a way towards women-empowerment but the seeds for that must be sowed in childhood. The advertisement has rightly depicted that girls are much stronger and confident if their families have their back.
Stereotyped commercials reinforce the notion that girls must act a certain way to fit in as girls in society, and the same goes for boys.
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Empowering females is one of the essential goals outlined in United Nation’s ‘Sustainable Development Goals’. Countries pledging to the Sustainable Development Goals, are expected to enhance the opportunities for greater participation of women in the workforce.
Though Pakistan has seen an empowered woman like Benazir Bhutto the country is still staggering to increase its position in the international ranking as the country has continued to land second-last in the list of women empowerment.