Malaika Arora calls out double standards faced by women after divorce

From her own journey post‑divorce with Arbaaz Khan to the way society celebrates men who move on easily — Malaika exposes the bias she believes still burdens women.

Malaika Arora recently spoke out at an event in Mumbai about the harsh reality she has lived — the double standards society applies to men and women after a separation. She explained that while a man’s choice to divorce, remarry, or simply “move on” is often dubbed courageous or even celebrated, a woman making similar decisions faces relentless judgment.

According to her, the narrative is skewed from the very start: “You are constantly judged for being strong. We are going to have these judgments irrespective,” she said. While she acknowledged that some men in her life have helped shape her strength, she says the response to a woman’s choice remains riddled with stereotypes.

Malaika’s own life story lends weight to her words. She married Arbaaz Khan in 1998 when she was in her early 20s — a union that lasted nearly two decades before ending in divorce in 2017. The couple share a son, Arhaan.

In the years following the split, Malaika dated actor Arjun Kapoor, a relationship that became fodder for widespread media scrutiny — scrutiny that often focused more on her than him. Meanwhile, Arbaaz Khan remarried in December 2023 to makeup artist Sshura Khan and, as of October 5, 2025, became a father again to a baby girl.

Despite all this, Malaika says the scrutiny hasn’t stopped. She says women are still asked, “Why would she do something like that? Doesn’t she have sense?” when they make life choices — choices that, based on her experience, would earn a man praise.

For Malaika, divorce was never about running away, but about self‑respect, growth, and providing a healthy environment for her child — even if that meant facing criticism.

Her message is clear: society needs to stop rewarding — and embarrassing — people based solely on gender when it comes to life’s personal choices.

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