Opinion News anchor Supreet Kaur doesn’t need to be pushed on a pedestal
Kaur was professional in her conduct, like any other person in her situation would have been.
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Social media also applauded her as a woman, which goes on to highlight all over again how patronising we can be towards women.
On Saturday, Supreet Kaur, newsreader with a news channel in Chhattisgarh, read out the news of an accident in which her husband had also died. While the crew in the newsroom knew about the death of her husband, they didn’t inform her nor did the reporter from the scene take any names. She continued to read the news for the next 10 minutes even as she suspected her husband was one of those who had died, and finished the bulletin, reportedly breaking down into tears only after the live telecast finished.
Supreet Kaur received incessant praise for her ‘bravery’ on live television. Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister Raman Singh too extended his condolences to her. Social media was rife with accolades on her brave act as well.
Read | Chhattisgarh: News anchor learns of husband’s death while reading live bulletin, finishes telecast
It’s imperative that we stop to think here: has the world become so cruel that a simple act of professionalism is stretched on to become an act of bravery? Kaur was professional in her conduct, like any other person in her situation would have been. The crew has gone on record to say that they “did not have the courage” to tell her that her husband had died. If she did sense that her husband may have been among those who died, she had no way of knowing the exact truth.
In 2016, a video emerged of a woman who was involved in a horrific car accident but continued to apply make-up calmly even with the wreckage all around her. While every person’s response to a calamity is different, a prolonged state of shock could force a person to act as naturally as they can. In fact, for Kaur, who broke down after the telecast, it doesn’t seem to be just shock but also gradual realisation. Kaur did what she was most accustomed to doing – her job.
Social media also applauded her as a woman, which goes on to highlight all over again how patronising we can be towards women. A tweet read, “That’s called the #womenpower and salute to the great lady #SupreetKaur 🙏🏻for such brave face n being professional,” while another said, “We all heard abt womn’s emotion, love, affaction.bt #SupreetKaur has shown hw hard cn b a womn in need. The Hero. Uncountable respect 4 u.”
Her act of professionalism is attributed to her gender, respecting her more because she is a woman. A man in her place may have been described as doing what naturally comes to him; but as a woman, whose judgement is always allegedly overruled by emotions, Kaur seemingly did the brave act of setting them aside. Had she made a serious blip on live TV, she would have been pulled down yet again for being a woman and not doing her job right.
Supreet Kaur deserves respect for her professionalism and for doing her job but the world doesn’t need to push her on a pedestal for being human.
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