Kubbra Sait – Women’s Day special: I was hired because I have a pretty face, had to wear pretty skirts and high heels – Times of India

Name one woman in your life you look up to and why?

I believe it’s really hard. You know, after a period of time after walking this earth, it kind of gets a little difficult to pick one person who you idolize. Also, I don’t kind of believe that you need to put the weight on one person’s shoulders and tell them that you look up to them entirely, because they’re human beings, as well. We forget most often that idols are humans! But I think the person who inspired me to be fearless when it comes to speaking and be publicly seen and owning their truth, I think was Ellen DeGeneres, hands-on for me! And she has continued to, you know, grow her personality, stand by what she believes and give back to the world. So I think the formative years, were definitely inspired by Ellen DeGeneres for me.

Was there any barrier you faced in your career because you were a woman? How did you overcome it?
I don’t think I have surely faced any barriers because I’ve been a woman or born in a woman’s body. I honestly cannot fail to acknowledge that to be privileged because I think more than the body, my mind was trained to live in this patriarchal world, and not allow anything to bog me down.

So no, but I do remember having a job where I was hired only because I was a woman. I was hired because I have a pretty face. And I had to wear pretty skirts and high heels and get my nails done and get my hair done. Well, because I’m a woman, and I was in the marketing team of the organization. So I think, are their biases, because you’re a woman? Yes, they are! Is it something that I have experienced in order to taste failure in certain ways? No, I haven’t. I think I’ve got a very large mind, in that sense to filter this, like, there’s enough space for like, on the stuff that doesn’t resonate with me just pass and slip away. I really don’t pay attention to the naysayers. I’ve never done it. And I think that is truly a privilege because I was raised that way.

One thing you would change about the world for women if you could…
I would stop the women bitching about women yaar!! To begin with, there’s a lot that happens. And women are constantly judgmental, not only about themselves. Like, I love it, when you tell when you give a woman a compliment and say, ‘Oh, my God, that’s great shirt’ and she says, ‘Thank you’ or ‘that’s a great lip shade’ and they go like, ‘thank you’ instead of denying it and going into like making excuses like, ‘No, not today, I just like washed my hair today’, ‘I just did this’, ‘I just did that’. I think that’s what the self-deprecation that is there in the women today and has been wherein women don’t feel they’re good enough for themselves.

I think that should change in the world. And that should also be like, given to women who speak back to women like that. I think that needs to stop entirely.

If you had to give one advice to your younger self, what would it be?

This too shall pass. I know, I’d heard Tom Hanks say it and I wish I had learned that earlier as well. But I honestly think that when I look back, I know I failed way many times. And I realized that failure doesn’t stick with you. But neither is this neither does success! So I think the one thing that I will always remember for myself, and for the time to come is that there’s no use stressing about things that are not in your control. It’s best to just go ahead, play the game for what it is, enjoy it while you’re playing it. And then go back home and make sure that you get a good night’s rest.

On International Women’s Day, one message for all the men out there…
Oh, so I recently met a man who spoke to me in a condescending way and who told me that I am being spoken of in his boys’ club. And they were like, ‘oh my god, do you know this is what she is like in bed or otherwise’. If you want a reaction, I think you really need to go and scour up better pickup lines. Because what you say and what you do reflects on your upbringing. So know, if you want to earn a woman’s attention earn it with respect. If you want us to respect you, you need to respect us. And this is not about hey, I’m in a man’s world. So I need to behave this way. No, it is a human world that we all are living in. And our species is bigger than that better than that, as humanity as a whole. So I think that’s pretty much it. And if we’re able to do that together, men and women I think we’ll be in a better place.

And on this Women’s Day, I wish all the women are very, very happy, happy Women’s Day. But I’d also like to remind everybody out there that we don’t need one day to celebrate us or to acknowledge us. We need to do this step by step, inch by inch day by day. And I think we’re all heading in the right direction. So Happy Women’s Day!