All of us believe in the age-old adage of ‘live and let live’. But when it comes to women wearing dresses and shorts, sometimes, we forget this basic tenet. Indian women face harassment and moral policing not just from men but from other women as well. Instances like the Delhi Auntyji and a Kolkata woman slapping a student wearing shorts offer a grim picture of the society’s mindset because in both cases, the harassers believed that the women ‘deserved’ to be raped.
A 28-year-old techie wearing shorts recently faced similar harassment when a man told her to follow the “proper dress code of India”. The incident was captured on video by her friend.
According to News18, the incident took place on October 3, 9 pm in Bengaluru’s HSR layout area. The woman revealed,
“I heard someone yelling. I was riding pillion and I looked to my right side. There was a man on a two-wheeler, who began yelling at me and said, ‘Don’t you have any clothes at home?’ When I asked him what his problem is, he began yelling at me, saying Indian women must not wear ‘such’ clothes. I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I don’t see what the problem is.”
She further added, “Maybe he expected us to be scared. I also told him that I would go to the police. That’s when he got back on his bike and fled.”
After the recording went viral on social media, people pointed out the irony of the fact that the man himself was wearing western clothes while telling the woman “You must follow Indian rules; Please wear proper clothes.”
So now it's comes to this. Why isn't the guy in dhoti then?
— Aldrin (@aldrinalphonso) October 6, 2019
Ridiculous. Who is he to sermon others?
— Ravikumar Rajagopal (@ravikr) October 6, 2019
PLEASE SOMEONE GIVE DHOTI TO HIM.
SHIRT PANT ITS NOT INDIAN WEAR..— AʋιɳαʂH (@Avi_Ngpre) October 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/shilpitewari/status/1180748824618233856
but neither is his dress Indian! so first let him practice what he preaches before becoming a self appointed moral custodian
— K G Surendran (@surendrankol) October 6, 2019
Regardless of whether you agree with the guys opinion or not, he has no right to force it on some random stranger.. Who is he to decide what is appropriate for others to where? That thinking is for him only not others..
— Siddharth Kashinath (@SiddharthKashi1) October 7, 2019
Problem with our society is we mind the business of others more than focusing on ourselves
— Ayaaz Habib (@AHabib145) October 6, 2019
The Indian Express quoted the woman saying, “I have not filed a complaint as I feel even the police would have the same mindset.” That says a lot doesn’t it?