“As young girls, breasts create a sense of shame and
inferiority complex. However, the very same breasts quell world hunger,
turning the woman into an angel,” says Malayalam writer Indu Menon.
Indu Menon is a proud participant of Malayalam magazine
Grihalakshmi’s ‘Breastfeed freely’, a campaign which promotes free and
open breastfeeding among women, as part of the International Women’s Day
celebrations.
The magazine has pictures of two women breastfeeding infants (one of them is a model), and is filled anecdotes from mothers.
What inspired this radical campaign was a Facebook photo of
a 23-year-old mother, Amritha, feeding her one-and-a-half month old
baby. Published by her husband in January, the photo sparked a lot of
conversation on open breastfeeding and the campaign was launched
immediately after this.
In an interview to Grihalakshmi, Amritha said, “Even when I
was in the hospital, I had breastfed openly. So many people told me off
for this. Some even said that if I fed my child without covering my
breasts, they would dry up very soon. These are all age-old
superstitions which are still being spread by young people. Some would
even throw a towel on me while I fed my baby and then check if I was
trying to remove it.”
The magazine’s cover features a woman model smiling into the camera as the baby suckles on her breast.
Gilu Joseph, the poet, actor and model, who featured on the
cover of the issue, said that she dedicated this to all the mothers who
want to feed their babies openly and with pride.
“Whatever criticism this picture elicits, I will celebrate
happily, as it is for all the mothers who want to breastfeed openly,”
she says in the cover story.
Gilu says it was not a decision that her conservative
Christian family endorsed. She told Indian Express Malayalam that her
mother and her sisters, of whom one is a nun, did not approve of her
posing for the campaign.
Saying that breastfeeding is indeed a privilege for
mothers, Gilu Joseph, in an interview with Mathrubhumi TV said, “This is
nothing to be afraid of or embarrassed about. It is a very genuine
need. In today’s society which shuns open breastfeeding, a campaign like
this is a great thing and I am proud to be a part of it.”
Moncy Joseph, editor-in-chief of Grihalakshmi says that the
campaign is intended for men and women. “So many times, new mothers are
helpless when their children cry of hunger, simply because they are
unable to feed in public. This has to change. Breastfeeding is a matter
of pride, and women have to be able to feed their children freely and
openly. You don’t need feeding rooms to feed your children. So we
figured that having a discussion around this would be the most relevant
thing to do this Women’s Day,” said Moncy.
On what they aimed to achieve with the campaign, Moncy Joseph said that
a change in the society’s perception about the issue was required.
“When women are asked to go to the feeding room and feed,
it is almost like the society is collectively teaching us to hide this
very natural thing. This has to change,” said Rose Maria, one of
Grihalakshmi’s sub-editors.
However, the campaign has also received considerable flak
on social media, for portraying a very sanitised version of motherhood
and breastfeeding. Many have questioned why a model and not a real
breastfeeding mother was used in the cover page – especially when the
baby in the picture was not hers.
A Facebook user, Hasna Shahitha, pointed out how the
picture is an unrealistic portrayal of motherhood and breastfeeding with
a deliberate emphasis on aesthetic appeal.
“Grihalakshmi’s breastfeeding cover shows a good-looking
woman with fair and flawless breasts, a red sindoor symbolizing a
married mother, a calm, upright and composed posture while feeding,” she
wrote.
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