The maid-turned-comedian speaks strongly against treatment meted out to domestic helps by their employers.
“If a chaiwala can be India’s Prime Minister, why can’t a house maid become a comedian?” asked 43-year-old Deepika Mhatre.
The maid-turned-comedian was in conversation with ThePrint reporter Sanya Dhingra, at the 10th edition of ‘Democracy Wall’ at PSIT Kanpur Friday.
Mhatre, who is from Virar on the outskirts of Mumbai, also sells imitation jewellery on local trains.
At Friday’s event, she jokingly spoke about her aspirations to become a politician in future.
LIVE NOW: Deepika Mhatre at Democracy Wall
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Mhatre also touched upon the existing “gender bias” in different spheres such as marriage and rituals, which people “blindly follow”.
She asked if women are made to wear mangalsutra as a sign of marriage, why shouldn’t men.
Mhatre also narrated the story of how she became a comedian. She made her debut at a housing society function last year. It was at this programme that she was spotted by Aditi Mittal, stand-up comedian, actor and writer, who later helped her grow in her chosen field.
Initially, Mhatre faced hurdles even within her family. Her husband wanted her to stay at home and do household chores but now even he is fine with her being a comedian.
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She admits that as a woman, she faces a lot of difficulties while trying to prove her worth as a stand-up comedian.
She also spoke strongly against the treatment meted out to housemaids. Mhatre claimed the maids are not given enough respect. She drew parallels between the British treating Indians years ago and the treatment given to domestic helps by their Indian “masters” now.
However, focusing on the brighter side of her story, Mhatre said that she started getting a lot of respect after becoming a comedian.
Democracy Wall is a monthly free speech campus initiative organised by ThePrint in collaboration with Facebook.
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