The recent incident of a girl travelling in the Delhi metro caused quite a stir online because of her outfit. Some 'outraged' passengers who were travelling in the metro, clicked her pictures and started circulating her clips on social media, without her consent.
Many people on the internet were quite offended by the choice of her clothes too. There were comments about her being 'attention-seeking', 'immodest', and 'shameless', among other things. Later, people even found her social media account and started sharing her pictures online.
Unfortunately, this is neither the first nor the last incident where a woman's choice of clothing becomes a nationwide concern. There are countless examples every day where women's bodies are policed and ridiculed. Celebrities often become a soft target of online trolls, who not only publicly objectify their bodies, but shame, harass, and threaten them for their choice of clothes.
Uorfi Javed often comes under the scanner for her outfits and constantly receives rape and death threats. Recently, someone also filed a complaint against Taapsee Pannu for wearing a necklace engraved with Goddess Lakshmi with a deep-neck dress, because it 'offended' their religious sentiments.
Taapsee Pannu's outfit landed her in a controversy
(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)
In another incident, a professor was fired for her pictures in a swimsuit, that were leaked from her private account on Instagram. These are just a few examples where in the name of 'culture' and 'morality', women's bodies are policed.
Ironically, on one hand, women in India are told to cover themselves up, to not reveal too much skin, and to dress a certain way that adheres to the 'social norms', but on the other hand, Muslim women are threatened, harassed, and forced to remove their hijab.
Besides, when women's bodies are exploited, sexualised and objectified, no one bats an eye. It's only when women exercise their right to express themselves and take control of their own narrative, people find it disrespectful and against 'Indian culture'.
Recent Incidents That Should Be Considered Offensive
In a country where a case of crime against women is registered every 74 seconds (NCRB, 2021), we believe that there are bigger issues that need to be discussed.
Just in the past few months, there have been many unfortunate incidents that should have caused more outrage than the woman's clothes in the Delhi metro, but didn't.
Like -- Shailesh Bhatt, one of the men, convicted of raping Bilkis Bano was not only acquitted of the crime, but even felicitated along with the other 10 convicts. He was recently seen sharing a stage with BJP leaders in Gujarat.
Another case in point is the incident at Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW) of Delhi University, where several men forcibly entered the cultural fest, and harassed the women students.
In Kerala, students of Kalakshetra Foundation’s Rukmini Devi College for Fine Arts, accused four faculty members, including the now-arrested Hari Padman, of sexual harassment, exploitation, casteist remarks, and body shaming. The students even registered a protest against the management for inaction and ignoring their complaints.
Last year, on two separate occasions, (Bulli Bai and Sulli Deals) more than 100 Muslim women including journalists, and activists were vilified on the internet in a mock auction. Their pictures and personal details were leaked online in an attempt to humiliate them.
These are only a handful of incidents that happened recently, and they all raise the question that when will the real concerns come to the fore. When will our society stop making women's bodies a battleground?
Video Editor: Arnab Chakravorty
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