We live in a really funny society. A woman is hailed as a Goddess and then we shame her for being powerful. A woman’s body is considered to be desirable and then we blame her for seducing ‘innocent’ men. An act as natural and beautiful as breastfeeding in public, is looked down upon because it exposes the woman’s body.
Malayalam fortnightly magazine, Grihalaxmi, took a bold step and featured poet and actress, Gilu Joseph, breastfeeding a baby on their recent cover. While the initial reactions were mostly positive, the backlash and outrage about this have begun. (Why am I not surprised?)
According to a report in the DNA, Advocate Vinod Matthew has filed a case against the magazine and Joseph in the CJM court of Kollum, Kerela, under IPC sections 3 and 4 of the Prohibition of indecent representation of women Act 1986.
"Don't stare, we are #breastfeeding!"
Grihalakshmi March 1st Issue is out, which speaks about the importance of breastfeeding, and the taboos revolving around it. pic.twitter.com/CtobpNInMO
— Grihalakshmi (@Grihalakshmi_) March 1, 2018
The date of hearing for the case has been decided to be on 16th March 2018.
27-year-old Gilu Joseph., who isn’t married or a mother, took the bold step of agreeing to be featured because she wanted to break the stereotype and lift the taboo off of the topic of breastfeeding.
As per The Indian Express, she said,
“I grabbed the opportunity because I have never been taught that breastfeeding is a sin and something to be covered up.”
She further added,
“More than my personal interests, the cover is a result of Grihalakshmi’s campaign, which was aimed at mothers and wives who are proudly feeding their babies right now, without worrying about anything else.”
In an interview with Indian Express Malayalam, Joseph said that breastfeeding is a privilege for women only. She raised valid questions for everyone who criticised the cover.
“It is a problem to interpret this sexually. Isn’t it a beautiful thing, friends? Why do you think it is wrong? Which god will be angry if you feed your child?”
Joseph also revealed that her family did not support her decision to be the face of this campaign. But she said,
“I have only done things that I have believed is right for me. I must have failed, but I have no regrets.”
There have also been people claiming that she did all this for the sake of some publicity. She has been called a slut on social platforms for daring to showcase breastfeeding publicly. To that, she said,