Bharat Matrimony has come under fire after their recent advertisement on Holi and International Women's Day courted controversy over religious sentiments.
The advertisement shows a woman washing off the different colours from her face and once the colours start to fade, there appear bruises on her skin.
And the captions reads: "Some colours don't wash away easy."
"A third of women who've faced this trauma, have stopped playing Holi."
Tweeting the 75-second clip on Twitter, the website originally wrote, "A lot of women have stopped playing Holi due to the trauma they experience through harassment. Watch this video that brings this to life in a hard hitting way. This Holi, let's celebrate Women's Day, and choose to keep them safe everyday. #BeChoosy #Holi #Holi2023 #WomensDay."
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However, the video did not go down well with netizens as many expressed their anger over linking a severe social issue with a Hindu festival.
While one user commented, "Are you guys shameless or what? Don't you want Hindu customers or you don't care about Hindu customers? Remove your ad from all your platforms and put an unconditional apology otherwise, a champion against your company will start Hindus", one more wrote, "You guys are absolutely disgusting. How dare you link a social message with the Hindu festival of Holi. What has domestic abuse got to do with Holi?Have u lost your mind? You obviously don’t want Hindu customers. btw, u should focus on what happens on your awful site."
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Several others attack the company for hurting the sentiments of a particular religious sect.
As #BoycottBharatMatrimony started gaining traction on Twitter, some users praised the matrimonial site for raising an important issue.
"This is indeed very brave of @bharatmatrimony. Festivals cannot and should not be a traumatic experience. Respect and Consent is vital and what better than the #WomensDay to send this message out to all those men who abuse, harm and disrespect women," tweeted one user.
Following the outcry, Bharat Matrimony deleted the tweet and shared the video with a fresh caption, "This Women's Day & Holi, let's celebrate by creating safer and more inclusive spaces for women. It's important to acknowledge the challenges that women face in public spaces and create a society that truly respects their well-being - today & forever."
