The female body is, once again, in the limelight.
Just a while ago, celebrities like Fatima Sana Sheikh and Amala Paul were verbally abused and shamed, ironically, by self-proclaimed guardians of religion and ‘sanskar’. This time around, topless protests are making headlines, sparked off by a Kerala professor’s comments about Muslim women students not wearing their hijabs ‘properly’. He claimed that they were deliberately exposing their chests “like how we slice a small part of a melon to see if it’s ripe”.
The Real Issue Staring Us In the Face
This month, the photo of a model breastfeeding a baby, on the cover of Malayalam magazine Grihalakshmi, caught the attention of the country. After this, the professor’s comments caused quite a stir too. All of this led me to address the issue staring us in the face – the hypersexualisation of the female body, which is in no way restricted to a specific community or religion.
Sadly, a woman is, first and foremost, considered an object of sexual pleasure. This overshadows all other priorities like her talent, comfort and personality. Every other identifier comes next.
Everything she does is viewed through this lens and any threat to her (future) husband’s ownership of her body is vehemently eliminated. The woman’s body, as proven time and again, is rarely hers to have autonomy over.
The Right to Go Topless
I uphold gender equality when it comes to bodily autonomy. A woman should have as much right over her body as a man has over his in any given situation.
This includes the right to be topless whenever it is okay for a man to be so. I request one NOT to confuse this with nudism.
The problem is hypocrisy and separate standards for men and women.
What distinguishes us from animals is our ability to not succumb to and act on our baser instincts. Humans are rational beings capable of thinking and understanding. No man should find himself in a position that undermines that said dignity. Any advances without consent are unacceptable.
The Channar revolt of the 19th century had Nadar climber women in Travancore kingdom fight for the right to wear upper-body clothes to cover their breasts. The right was earlier reserved for only higher-class women. Between then and now, the looming concept of ‘choice’ still prevails. A woman’s right to choose what she wants. (That being said, the bare-chested protests do not cancel out or undermine the Channar revolt, which was primarily centred around caste.)
Why Are We Afraid of Revealing Our Bodies?
Why should we be afraid to unbutton our shirts when it is too hot? Why are we afraid of wet clothes revealing our bodies? Why should we constantly worry about a bra strap exposed or a sari/shawl coming undone? Why is this so-called ‘modesty’ more important than convenience and comfort?
Once again, I reiterate that this is not about nudism. Or exhibitionism. It is about being able to choose according to your convenience, according to what your body needs. It is the patriarchal denial of these rights that can be termed extremism, not, as social conditioning would have us believe, the call for equality.
I have spoken about these issues before and when I, along with friends, put up photos of ourselves as a sign of solidarity, we were flooded with an avalanche of verbal abuse, body-shaming and slut-shaming.
What Matters to Me Is Body Positivity
I am being shamed for my small breasts and skinny build, while someone else is being shamed for being ‘too plump’ or ‘too big’.
What matters to me is body positivity. Nothing should matter to you as long as you are happy with your body. You choose what you want to do with you body or its images. Let’s please normalise the female figure!
That being said, there were a lot of reactions that were extremely encouraging. There are numerous men and women who are seeking a positive change, but are sometimes restricted by their circumstances.
I can only hope I ignited a spark. The movement is gaining momentum and perhaps this is the first step in this direction from a country like ours. Change is on its way.
(Arathy is a Kerala-based activist who’s been involved in gender-related issues for quite some time now. )
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)