VÁGÍNÁ TIGHTENING CRÉÁM FINALLY LAUNCHED

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."