Medieval Opinions

Enough has been said about it already. Enough has been written about it already. I accidently happened to read an article today evening which was titled - "Dress Code for Women". First thing first, I was deeply disturbed by the title itself and as I progressed I only got more flustered. Initially I thought it was a joke and that the writer was being sarcastic. As I continued to read I was shocked and outraged, and just had to pitch in.

I am a 27 year old and have been working since 23. I come from a small town which is somewhat conservative in it's thoughts but yes I have spent quite a time in some foremost metros and tier 1 cities of India. I have also travelled to some developed countries and have been working with people from different race and culture. I have been closely following the dress-code controversy in the papers and on TV in our country and I have a few observations to make.

The first is on the actual dress code issue. I have noticed the repeated use of words such as modesty, decency and obscenity. Would the people who use these words please tell me what they mean? What is so indecent and obscene about jeans, T-shirts and skirts ? I don't see it anything more than the personal choice to be comfortable and feel good about it. If women wearing jeans are viewed as lacking modesty and serenity, women wearing saris should also be called immodest, as they expose some parts of their body. The baseline is that it's totally a bullshit argument without any rationale.

Fundamentally women wear jeans and T-shirts not to emulate western culture, but because such clothes are more comfortable. No one is deriding and discarding anything because it is age-old, or accepting some things just because they are modern. If it is a question of micro-mini skirts and barely-there tops, which leave little to the imagination, it should be known that only a small minority of girls dress this way. Even if they do so, it is their choice. If people are offended by them, then they should not look at these girls.

I find it very distressing to see that educated people condone such patriarchal behaviour. It is especially disturbing to see that some women also encourage this behaviour. While it is fine to have your own views, it is improper to impose them on others. Why is there such fear of a woman's freedom and empowerment? As a progressive society we seriously need to think about our opinions.

I feel that we are trying to treat the symptom and not the disease. We are trivialising the problem by issuing dress codes and other such dictates and restrictions. The real issues are our medieval views on women, and that is what needs to be changed on the whole