The Hindu’s Women’s Day campaign attempts to end name calling of ambitious women

‘Feminazi’. ‘Hunterwali’. ‘Maharani’. These are the words that are often used to describe women who are ambitious and unapologetic about the way they choose to live their life. These words, written in bold in an ad in The Hindu, celebrates these women and emphasises that nothing can stop them – not even the name calling.

The newspaper’s reader engagement initiative #DareStopHer aims to put a stop to the name calling, urging society at large to look deeper; at what these women have achieved, and appreciate them for what they are.

The campaign ‘celebrates women for rising above conventions and ceilings’. It is a bid to nudge the society to stand up for its empowered women with a goal to create a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.It also asks women to stay focused on their goals and rise to their full potential.

Through this campaign, The Hindu is acknowledging the change that young women are ushering in. It calls out society for treating determined women with double standards and also asks these women to continue to be themselves no matter the judgement they face.

Suresh Balakrishna, Chief Revenue Officer of The Hindu Group, said, “As a father of an empowered girl, I have seen the bias that exists against women in the society first-hand. The Hindu’s campaign is a by-product of what women have been going through in the society for wanting more for themselves. #DareStopHer is a tribute to women who surge from strength to strength and believe the sky's the limit.”

The Hindu is also inviting real life stories of grit and women empowerment, which will be collated and published as a follow up to the campaign.

Aparajita Biswas, Head of Marketing of The Hindu Group, said, “This campaign is close to my heart. Women face a lot of bias and judgement for putting themselves first and doing things their way at home and in a corporate setup. This campaign is a war cry to tune out the static and march ahead, arm in arm with their head held high.”

The print ad, released on International Women’s Day, has been conceived by the creative team of Parvathy Rajmohan, associate creative director and copywriter and Vidyanath PA, creative director and art director, Ogilvy India (South).

Parvathy, who has written the ad, said, “Although strong women are appreciated on paper, they earn a lot of names. At work, within the family, around friends. What if we call this out and encourage women to make it their strength? The campaign focuses on how no amount of sledging should stop women and how they should convert such negativity into their strength.”