Dress Code no Answer to Crimes against Women

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“…women wearing obscene clothes … tempt men and that’s why they get raped.”

That’s not some saffron moral police speaking. It is K.K. Seethamma, the former HOD of Women Studies at the Bangalore University. I was surprised — shocked is the right word — when I recently read in the newspapers an interview of Seethamma advocating dress code for women. “I have been persistently telling successive vice-chancellors to implement a dress code in BU for women students and staff, but they don’t bother about it. For the simple reason, that they are callous and are men. All we need to do as women is to protect ourselves by wearing good clothes.”

For the uninitiated and new to the issue, please read BU panel head wants dress code in the January 3 issue of The Times of India.

“I advocate a dress code for women for their own good. What’s the use of wearing short tops and showing off their tummy? Women look pretty when they are well covered.”

She doesn’t stop there and goes on to add: “Many women lecturers in BU wear salwars and jeans. What respect can they expect from boys? Only a sari with long-sleeve blouses invokes respect for women teachers, nothing else.”

So what does supercop Kiran Bedi, who made no-nonsense statements and smart clothes a fashion statement for any working woman, say to such degrading observations, especially by a senior police officer? Howzzit photo by Prime Shooter

Madam Seethamma, I am surprised that an eminent person like you, one who is the head of the department of Women Studies in Bangalore University, made this statement. According to you, only a sari with long sleeve blouses will earn respect for women. Also, according to you, women should not wear short tops which show their tummy. Aren’t you aware that the “decent sari” is attire which reveals more of the stomach than a short top?

As for teachers earning respect, it is by their way of teaching and their dealing with students. A teacher who is good and cares for his/her wards, is interested in teaching and going that extra mile to make the subjects interesting always earns a special place among students. And as for them getting extra attention, any good-looking person, whether it is a man or a woman, does get more attention from people. It has nothing to do with the clothes.

Seethamma’s observations come on the back of the Andhra Pradesh DGP Dinesh Reddy comments that women who wear “flimsy and fashionable clothing” are actually inviting trouble.

“Rapes and murders are not strictly under the control of the police… People are turning out to be more fashionable. Even in villages they are wearing salwar kameezes. All these provoke and this cannot be under the control of the police. So rapes increase or decrease…” the DGP said in Hyderabad while presenting the ‘achievements’ of his department.

Even when he issued a hasty clarification later, he maintained that he had only said provocative clothing by women was “one of the factors” in rising crimes against them and not the “only factor” as has been represented by the media.

This was followed by Karnataka Women and Child Welfare Minister C.C. Patil: “I personally don’t favour women wearing provocative clothes and always feel they need to be dignified in whatever they wear… women should know how much skin they should cover.

Patil, who was speaking in response to Reddy’s very objectionable comments, said: “Today’s lifestyle makes it mandatory for women to work like men and live on equal terms with them. So women work in IT companies and call centres at night, they ought to know how much skin they should cover when they leave for such work places.”

“Many women wear saris while others wear salwars. At the same time, there are western outfits like low-waist jeans also easily available in the market. But it’s up to women to decide which dress is safe for them,” he was quoted by the report.

So Mr DGP and Mr Patil, according to you, women who dress provocatively, make a man’s morals nose dive. Point taken. But I have a point to make here. Why are little girls, barely 5-6 years old, raped? Why are women in villages, who are dressed “decently”, raped? Why women who are alone in their homes are raped? Why girls, decently dressed in salwar kameezes, going to work in cabs are raped?

Has there ever been a proper justification for rape, molestation or assault? If provocative attire is the reason for all this then why are boys molested? Why women in burqas raped?

The statements coming from people holding such high and eminent posts is shocking and nauseating to say the least. By asking women to change the way they dress, or rather indirectly blaming women for the crimes against them, these people are either trying to pass the buck or speaking like our normal male chauvinist society. For, in India, a woman who has been misbehaved with, or molested or raped is treated worse than the perpetrator. We do not allow her to be a victim. It is always she who is blamed. And statements such as these only prove the fact that we have still not understood how to deal with this issue.

A rape or molestation cannot be predicted. Such incidents just happen to hapless women because there are still wolves in the garb of human beings among us. The best way to deal with this is to punish the accused. We need speedy trials and stricter punishment so that any person even dreaming of committing such a heinous crime hesitates because of the fear of the law.

Mr DGP and Mr Patil, since you have understood that women are to be respected and have a dignified position in our society, please use your forces and ministry resources for the purpose of achieving this goal. As for you Madam Seethamma, women’s studies doesn’t mean delving into age-old dress codes women. It’s time women like you add your voice to the pleas of the scores of oppressed women and address such problems.

Thank you.