Why Bollywood stars Neha Dhupia, Amrita Rao, Kareena Kapoor are posting breastfeeding pictures on the internet
- A new breed of celebrity Indian mothers, armed with the hashtag #freedomtofeed, are aiming to change the stigma attached to what they say is a natural, healthy act
- Their posts are creating a stir in the conservative country, where breastfeeding can invite mocking, trolling and even unwanted sexual attention from men
They’ve been mocked and trolled and told to cover up, but they’re willing to turn a deaf ear to the criticism because there’s a higher reason for what they’re doing.
As part of her “Freedom to Feed” campaign, Dhupia – who gave birth to her second baby, a boy, in October – has been posting pictures on Instagram of herself breastfeeding her newborn while sporting a maternity outfit.
The campaign is aimed at making new mothers feel more at ease about feeding their babies in public, in a land where doing so often invites judgment.
In one post, the 41-year-old talks of her experience of being criticised for breastfeeding even though “ … the last thing new mothers need is to be questioned, mocked and worst of all trolled. What we need is more freedom to feed. We should be able to feed our baby anywhere, at any given point of time.”