An
Indian company has launched what it claims is the country's first
Vágíná tightening cream, saying it will make women feel "like a vírgin"
again.
The company says it is about empowering women, but critics say it
is doing the opposite.It is certainly a bold claim. As the music starts playing on the advertisement for the 18 Again cream, a sari-clad woman is singing and dancing.
It is an unusual take on Bollywood.
"I feel like a vírgin," she croons, although the advert makes it clear she is not.
Her shocked in-laws look on, before her husband joins her for some salsa-style dancing.
"Feels like the very first time," she continues, as she is twirled around.
Cut away to her mother-in-law who begins by responding with a disgusted look on her face, but by the end of the advert even she has been won over, and is seen buying the product online
The
makers of 18 Again, the Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company Ultratech,
say it is the first of its kind in India (similar creams are already
available in other parts of the world such as the USA), and fills a gap
in the market.
Ultratech's owner, Rishi Bhatia, says the cream, which is selling for around $44 (£28), contains natural ingredients including gold dust, aloe vera, almond and pomegranate, and has been clinically tested.
"It's a unique and revolutionary product which also works towards building inner confidence in a woman and boosting her self esteem," says Mr Bhatia, adding that the goal of the product is to "empower women".
Mr Bhatia says the product is not claiming to restore a woman's vírginity, but to restore the emotions of being a vírgín.
"We are only saying, 'feel like a vírgin' - it's a metaphor. It tries to bring back that feeling when a person is 18."
But the company's advertising strategy has attracted criticism from some doctors, women's groups and social media users, who say the product reinforces the widely held view in India that pré-marital séx is something to be frowned upon, a taboo which is even seen as sinful by some.
"This kind of cream is utter nonsense, and could give some women an inferiority complex," argues Annie Raja from the National Federation of Indian Women, which fights for women's rights in the country.
Ms Raja says that rather than empower women, the cream will do the opposite, by reaffirming a patriarchal view that is held by many here - the notion that men want all women to be virgins until their wedding night.
"Why should women remain a virgin until marriage? It is a woman's right to make loveual relations with a man, but society here still says they should not until they are brides."
Ultratech's owner, Rishi Bhatia, says the cream, which is selling for around $44 (£28), contains natural ingredients including gold dust, aloe vera, almond and pomegranate, and has been clinically tested.
"It's a unique and revolutionary product which also works towards building inner confidence in a woman and boosting her self esteem," says Mr Bhatia, adding that the goal of the product is to "empower women".
Mr Bhatia says the product is not claiming to restore a woman's vírginity, but to restore the emotions of being a vírgín.
"We are only saying, 'feel like a vírgin' - it's a metaphor. It tries to bring back that feeling when a person is 18."
But the company's advertising strategy has attracted criticism from some doctors, women's groups and social media users, who say the product reinforces the widely held view in India that pré-marital séx is something to be frowned upon, a taboo which is even seen as sinful by some.
"This kind of cream is utter nonsense, and could give some women an inferiority complex," argues Annie Raja from the National Federation of Indian Women, which fights for women's rights in the country.
Ms Raja says that rather than empower women, the cream will do the opposite, by reaffirming a patriarchal view that is held by many here - the notion that men want all women to be virgins until their wedding night.
"Why should women remain a virgin until marriage? It is a woman's right to make loveual relations with a man, but society here still says they should not until they are brides."
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