Saba Azad Agrees With Deepika Padukone's 8-Hour Shift Ask: 'We Are Still Struggling With That'

Saba Azad has opened up about how actresses face patriarchy in the film industry. She echoed Deepika Padukone’s sentiments and questioned why a woman is expected to work for 8 hours after just having a child, or why there is a huge gender-based pay gap in the industry. She said that while there have been some improvements, they still have a long way to go as a fraternity.

Saba Azad told SCREEN, “In the most progressive homes, women could be working, but she will come back and lay the table, feed everybody. We don’t tell our boys to stay at home, but tell the girls not to step out after 8 pm. There’s female infanticide, this world is full of domestic violence, and the manosphere is hyperactive. I think we have gone backwards.”

“There was an upswing

which lasted till the early 2000s, then it plateaued, and then it crashed. I won’t go into the political reasons of why it has happened; patriarchy doesn’t serve anyone, least of all men. It makes it impossible for men to have emotions, to say no, or to cry. There are so many unnecessary expectations the patriarchy puts on women and men. Nobody is having a good time within that system, and we have a long way to go,” Saba Azad added.

As for the film industry, Saba mentioned, “The field of art has been leaps and bounds ahead of society; it challenges society’s perception. There is so much more work for women in our industry now; it is so much better. But do we have pay parity? No, we don’t. Do we respect women who have just given birth and are asking for 8-hour days? No, we don’t, we are still struggling with that.”

“We are still unable to give women that without showing them their place, so to speak. We are doing better; there is a lot more content for women, and there is no clear hierarchy if you get married anymore. It is so much better in terms of roles for married women or older women; OTT can be thanked for that. Content is winning over stardom,” Saba concluded.

The conversation around 8-hour shifts started after Deepika Padukone left Spirit and Kalki 2898 AD’s sequel when her demand for a fixed shift as a new mother was not met. Since then, stars like Ananya Panday and Kareena Kapoor have also echoed this sentiment and have agreed that it is possible to finish one’s work in a fixed shift.