A critical look at how Indian daily soaps continue to push archaic ideals of womanhood, reinforcing damaging stereotypes in modern society
Television has become an integral part of our lives and a modern-day necessity. It helps disseminate information to a wide audience, but its influence doesn’t stop there. With the rapid rise of electronic media and technology, television now holds the power to create, shape, and even dismantle ideologies. While it has played a major role in shaping public opinion, one glaring issue continues to persist—the problematic portrayal of women in Indian television soaps.
There remains a stark contrast between how women are represented on TV and the reality of their lives. Across decades, women in Indian serials have often been reduced to their physical appearance, romantic desirability, and ability to uphold traditional roles, whether as mothers, wives, or objects of desire (Ward and Harrison, 2005).
In the never-ending saas-bahu sagas filled with melodrama and outlandish plot twists, Indian television consistently glorifies women who are self-sacrificing, submissive, and passive. The ideal woman, according to these shows, is one who suppresses her own desires to conform to societal expectations. She is the “adarsh bahu”—clad in traditional attire, dutiful, and family-oriented.
In contrast, the so-called “vamp” is typically portrayed as modern, outspoken, and career-oriented. She wears western clothes, has a bold personality, and—God forbid—is unmarried. In this binary, a woman with autonomy, who asserts her choices and ambitions, is seen as disruptive and undesirable.
This begs the question: Why can’t a woman be independent? Why is ambition demonised in women but celebrated in men? Why must familial obligation always override personal fulfilment?
Society’s rigid standards for what makes a “good woman” are deeply embedded in these shows. A working woman is still often shown as a home-breaker or an inattentive mother. These outdated portrayals glorify endurance, silence, and suffering as virtues of womanhood, reinforcing the message that strength lies in submission.
Such depictions don’t just reflect patriarchy—they reproduce and normalise it. They send a dangerous message to viewers: that women are not meant to be strong or independent, but instead, passive participants in a world shaped by male dominance.
In a country that is pushing forward in terms of innovation and growth, our television content remains stuck in the past. It’s high time we transform our soaps—and start showcasing women not as ideals, but as individuals.