3 min readChennaiFeb 17, 2026 09:13 AM IST
Veteran actor Neena Gupta has often spoken about how women continue to face patriarchy and prejudice within their homes, despite many claiming that things are starting to change. In a recent interaction, the Panchayat star cited examples from her own family to highlight how, even today, women are often not allowed to follow their simplest wishes after marriage due to pressure from in-laws.
Speaking to Shubhankar Mishra, Neena talked about how finding a ‘vrigin bride’ is still a huge factor to men in Indian society. “They want a virgin wife,” she said. When asked if virginity is still a big deal even today, Neena responded, “What has changed now? Are you talking about India? Who says that people are open? A lot of things have not changed in our country. Women still touch their father-in-law’s feet after putting pallu over their heads. You and I are minorities, we are not the real India. People like us who dress well and talk nicely are not India.”
The actor further gave examples of women in her family facing prejudice on a daily basis within their marital homes. “I’ll give you an example. A relative on my father’s side got married to a guy in Mumbai who worked in a big financial company. Once my father called the boy, the girl, and her family to his house to talk to the couple because the girl refused to live with the guy and his family in Mumbai. The girl worshipped Sai Baba, so she put his picture in their room, but her mother-in-law didn’t allow her to keep that picture and told her to put up the picture of the guru that they worship,”she shared.
She added, “I’ll give you another example. My niece was told by her mother-in-law that she cannot put her family photo on her bedside table. We have a long way to go when it comes to changing the condition of women in the country.”
Neena became a single mother at 30 and welcomed her daughter Masaba out fo wedlock. She has previously said that this decision of hers worked out well for her but she wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else.
