The world belongs to everyone, to men and to women, to the rich and to the poor, to humans and to animals. While most other groups are able to hang onto their halves, women happen to be a group that have been marginalised for way too long now. Be it slut-shaming, wage inequality, girls being killed in the womb or after they are born, to just basic chauvinism they face at ever stage and every point in life.
This ad by United Colors of Benetton begins their United by Half campaign and demands back the half of everything that belongs to women. Simply because just like the ad says, women are not better halves or worse, just equal halves. Isn’t that the basis of almost every struggle women have ever taken up? It’s very easy for most of us to deny women their share in respect and decision-making, simply because somewhere down the line we believe it’s okay to do so. Some go a step ahead and believe this sub-standard treatment is what women deserve and that it’s only fair to give them this. This is exactly what the folks at UCB aim to fight against and have begun with this brilliant advertisement.
From tying rakhis to sisters because well it goes without saying they protect us no less, to making it clear women will no longer settle for less this ad takes on every aspect of the half that women deserve. It indeed is high time we unite and take back what’s rightfully ours and massive brands like UCB coming out in support of such movements openly go on to tell us how we indeed are moving towards a better world. So like the ad says, ‘let’s unite for the other half’ and stand up for ourselves and for what we deserve. Here’s hoping some day we can proudly say we indeed are United by Half.
