As a kid, I
remember, I was never allowed to wear shorts or sleeveless tops. “But Papa,”
I’d try to reason, “What’s wrong with it?” He’d squint his eyes and I’d know
that I needed to change into something ‘decent’ ASAP, never understanding why.
But, today, when
I bring those distant memories and the daily encounters with reality together,
the picture is much clearer but absurd at the same time. A woman’s choice of
her attire is considered a man’s business. If the man does not find it socially
acceptable, she is supposed to ethically withdraw from her ‘whims’ and get into
something appropriate.
Defy it, lady,
and you shall be called a slut. Sounds familiar?
This is the
society that’s afraid to accept anything new. This is the society that will mock
at you just because you care more about your comfort than their chiding
remarks. This is the society that will try to disgrace you because you choose
to ignore their mocking grins.
Isn’t it purely
logical that if it’s my body, it IS my right to dress it up the way I choose?
Why is decency weighed by the length of clothes and not by the intentions? How
can clothes be a reason to justify a rape or harassment? Does the same society
not think that if provoking men by clothes alone is enough, they are too easy?
How then are we women the sluts?
Surely, reading
about the Constitution of India, we were bound to understand that we have the
freedom to express ourselves by the things we talk, the dresses we wear, the
professions we choose, the ambitions we follow and the art we create. It’s too
late to tell us otherwise.
