Actor Rajpal Yadav used the first day of Sharadiya Navratri, which began on Sunday, to raise concern about women’s safety. In an Instagram post, he reflected on the contrast between the festival’s reverence for the goddess and the incidents involving women that continue to come to light.

“Are Our Daughters Truly Safe?”

Yadav wrote that during the nine days of Navratri, people worship Shakti, and on Ashtami and Navami they worship girls as goddesses and seek their blessings. Yet when incidents related to women’s safety come to light, he said, a question arises: in a country that considers girls goddesses, is every daughter truly safe?

A Father’s Perspective

Yadav said the question feels even more personal to him as a father of daughters. Every father, he wrote, wants his daughter to fulfil her dreams without fear, live as she wishes and be respected everywhere. He added that worshipping the Mother Goddess is meaningful only when her power is recognised not just in temples but also in the respect and safety of every woman.

A Pledge for Navratri

He urged people to go beyond worship this Navratri and take a pledge. In his words, the aim should be to teach daughters to live with courage and also to give them a world where they do not have to fight for their safety every day. He called Kanya Pujan more than a ritual, describing it as a reminder of responsibility toward the respect and rights of every daughter.

Why It Matters

Festival messages from public figures often reach large audiences, and Yadav’s choice to link a religious tradition with a social concern gives the discussion a familiar cultural frame. Such posts do not substitute for policy or enforcement, but they can keep attention on the issue during a period when the theme of women’s empowerment is already central.