2020 is nearing its end and people are still fighting for basic human rights. Remember how in the past women were banned from using cellphones or wearing jeans by khap panchayats? The same has happened, but this time men are the victims of such conservatism.
According to TOI, a prominent khap panchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar has banned men from wearing shorts in public as it looks “distasteful”. Four years ago, the same panchayat had banned women from wearing jeans to prevent sexual harassment.
The diktat comes after several women complained against men wearing shorts.
According to Times Now, the khap panchayat leader, Naresh Tikait, said that it isn’t appropriate for such bans to be imposed only on women.
“We can’t call it an order; it is a piece of advice. Only imposing such restrictions on girls is no solution,” he said.
He went on to add how the ban on jeans for women was a “success” and now it was time to “reform” the boys of the society.
“We had put a ban on wearing jeans by girls in the village and we got 90% success. Now, due to several complaints from the girls, we want to bar youths from wearing half pants. If someone is spotted in shorts, his name and address will be notes and action will be taken against him,” said Tikait.
Just like wearing jeans isn’t an invitation for sexual harassment for women, men wearing shorts outdoors shouldn’t be considered distasteful. It is high time we discard moral connotations from clothing items and respect a person’s personal choice. Such conservatism shouldn’t have a place in current times.