"Forcing Young Women To...": IndiGo's "Girl Power" Ad Faces Backlash

IndiGo is facing a wave of criticism on social media for its latest advertisement promoting girl power, with many users claiming there's a stark contrast between the airline's message and its actual practices.

The ad features a female flight attendant in an aircraft, accompanied by the caption, "Escaping patriarchy at 800 kmph".

Social media users said that IndiGo's policy of hiring only female cabin crew has nothing to do with challenging patriarchy.

A user wrote, "I'm sorry, forcing young women to wear heavy makeup & high heeled footwear, in a job which entails being on one's feet for long durations does NOTHING to 'smash patriarchy'. If anything, it's quite the opposite. Ridiculous of #Indigo to gaslight women by calling this 'girl power.'"

Adithya Venkatesan, who praised the ad, found himself at odds with the broader public sentiment. 

His post was met with hundreds of critical responses. One of them sarcastically said, “Nothing screams escaping patriarchy louder than when - You clean toilets, serve food, handle tantrums for little pay while maintaining specific appearance for strangers over family.”

“Unsure about how a role for women-only is deemed escaping the patriachy. Seems to be reinforcing it more. Pandering to the 'woke' audience would feel a better title,” read a comment.

Another wrote, “Yes, escaping patriarchy by posting a job profile (air hostess) where said job is strictly reserved for females along with certain weight and beauty standards + the said employees (females) are implicitly forced to put on heaps of make-up to appeal to the male passengers.”

A comment criticising the ad read, “Have to look as per ‘company's standards,' need to follow ‘strict protocol,' need to serve rude guests with a ‘smile' - smashing muh patriarchy.”

A user also mentioned Akasa Air and said that the airline has a more inclusive approach, employing both men and women as cabin crew and focusing on comfort rather than adhering to stringent beauty standards.

Here are a few more responses:

IndiGo is India's largest airline with over 60% market share and a fleet of more than 340 aircraft.