Dove gears up against hair stereotypes with #AapkeBaalAapkiMarzi

#AapkeBaalAapkiMarzi highlights the biases women face because of how they wear their hair and urges them to break free from the shackles of a narrow perception of beauty.

This Independence Day, Dove takes forward its long-standing narrative on societal benchmarks of acceptability by encouraging women to talk about stereotypes attached to their hair. The new campaign, developed by Ogilvy India, is an endeavour towards addressing these archaic, pre-defined stereotypes and encouraging women to stand tall and wear their hair as they like #AapkeBaalAapkiMarzi in the true spirit of Independence Day.

Harman Dhillon, Vice President, Hair Care, Hindustan Unilever said, “Dove recognizes and realizes the impact typecasting can have on an individual’s being. Through our campaigns we try to create awareness around and break the narrow definition of beauty, creating a space where women feel nurtured and liberated from societal beauty barriers. There is a lot more to be done to create a systemic change in mindsets and celebrate the individuality and independence of women.”

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Unveiled on Independence Day, the campaign shares the story of real women ">Farishte, ">Huda and ">Pia, how they view their hair vis-a-vis how the society perceives them. In an inspiring and moving narrative, it draws focus to the conditioning that women undergo, early-on, towards hair beauty norms. Whether it is short or grey hair, curly or coloured hair, it is the time women are the creators of their beauty standards and feel free to choose for themselves, that reflects their true personality.

According to Zenobia Pithawalla, Senior Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy India (West), “We interviewed women across the country to arrive at these inspiring stories. These women were left in a dilemma at some stage in their lives, all because they didn't conform to society's idea of beautiful hair. Instead of succumbing to societal bondage, they continued to wear their hair their way and emerged even more triumphant because of it. These are their stories. Stories that helped us arrive at our campaign idea, #AapkeBaalAapkiMarzi.”

With campaigns like #AapkeBaalAapkiMarzi, Dove hopes to ignite a conversation amongst women, across generations, on experiencing biases and the need to overcome them ⁠— to inspire others who have held back so far. #AapkeBaalAapkiMarzigently pushes for a change in outlook ⁠— one that is more accepting of women without pre-conceived notions, allows them to make their own choices without the fear of being judged and takes a step towards truly liberating women.