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| Sunday, 12 September 2004 |
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Provocative clothes an invitation From Upali Rupasinghe in New Delhi The Criminal Justice Society of India, a body championing the cause of the criminal justice system has made a move to impress upon the government to either caution or ban women from exposing their curvy figures in public. The Society's secretary-general Mr. R. S. Suri has recently sent a letter to Union Home Minister Mr. Sivaraj Patil, urging the government and law enforcement agencies to launch a drive against what he called the "social evil". "It's a natural desire to look attractive. However, often a woman's revealing clothes unwittingly titillate the male population. The media has given skin show so much priority, that every woman on the street has had to bear 'emotional rape' several times as it has resulted in the inciting of lustful reaction in men", the letter which presents an extremely patronising male viewpoint, said. He further stated that "the woman must realise that by inciting feelings of passion by deliberate efforts to bring attention to her skin, she is mocking the many who have braved worse social mindsets and given her the freedom she enjoys today ... if they dress in revealing clothes, many men will see them as a sex object. Not only that, but the way they dress can affect how men view other women as well. When women dress in sexy clothes, it not only promotes lustful thoughts, but it also encourages men to develop a warped vision of all women - a view that can cause men to think of and treat all women as sex objects". The move by the Criminal Justice Society of India, seems to have the a study conducted by 'Sakshi', a feminist legal resource group, which interviewed 109 judges to assess their attitudes to violence against women. The study has revealed that "68% of the judges believed that provocative clothes are an invitation to sexual relationship". Newspapers here, quoting the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) statistics show "that out of the total crime-especially molestation, eve-teasing and rape cases - 'sexy' and 'revealing clothes' contribute a substantial 15 to 20 per cent for the act to take place". However, there is a verticle division among officials, lawyers and women's activists on the matter. "I don't believe sexy or revealing clothes increase the crime in Delhi. It is the man's outlook how they see the women", says Joint Commissioner of Police in the Crime Against Women Cell, Bimla Metha. According to documents on a joint survey done by a few volunteer organisations "Wearing more clothes or less clothes is guided by the market forces. As the changes take place, we have to accept the changes in the society. It is not one of the criminogenic factors". One of the India's noted jurists and former Union Minister for law, Mr. Ram Jethmalani, rejects the 'notion' and said "It totally depends on the behaviour of the assailants". According to him, "no society can snatch the right of a woman or girl to dress as they like". |
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