Sartorial choices vs codes of conduct

What a woman wears shouldn’t be a subject of scrutiny. Yet, they are often told “not to wear this or that”. Is moral policing the newest deterrent to female labour force participation, asks Tanisha Saxena

Feminist battles are still being fought with more vigour and conviction than ever. Sartorial choices and bodily integrity are of utmost importance in that very fight against sexism and prejudices. However, some recent incidents remind us of how far we are from achieving the “goal”. Patriarchy exists in its own dark hues, it lurks behind those corners and erupts instantly at the first chance it gets.

Invasion of privacy

Recently, a teacher in Kerala resigned as she was facing gender discrimination. According to the woman, she was asked to wear a coat over her regular outfit and when she didn’t, the authorities rebuked her.

Not just this, as per the teacher, the classrooms have separate doors for boys and girls, and separate stairs as well, and the teachers are also instructed to check whether the girls use the staircase meant for them or not.

Taking things further is another incident reported in Kolkata’s St Xavier’s University where the professor was allegedly forced to quit her job as a complaint was filed over her “objectionable” bikini photos on her personal Instagram account. Why did the teacher have to pay for a sartorial choice? Who invaded her privacy?

If we take a customary glance at workplaces or academic spaces, women and their clothing are always questioned and scrutinised.

“Look what’s happening to women all around the world right now. Reproductive rights, the right to wear what you want, the right to live in dignity, free of fear, violence and discrimination — almost everything is being compromised in the name of culture and morality. Imposing restrictions on what a woman can wear and cannot wear is an extension of misogyny and creates more violence against them,” commented Aparna, a former assistant professor at the University of Delhi.

Scholars and feminists who have closely examined the nature of women under the magnifying glass in academia have noticed that the codes are at play in what is supposedly a radical space of society. As Francesca Stavrakopoulou, professor of Hebrew Bible and ancient religion at the University of Exeter, wrote, “Female academics find their appearance scrutinised in ways a male colleague would rarely
encounter.”

Moral policing

“As a teacher, I am supposed to be following the decorum within the school premises and I completely understand that. But I am not answerable to anyone beyond that. A few months ago, I went on a holiday to the Maldives with my family and one of my students saw my pictures in a swimsuit that were posted on social media. Later on, while discussing a topic in class, this male student cross-questioned me about the kind of clothes I was wearing. Furthermore, some parents on a WhatsApp group told me that I could be a bad influence,” narrates a 31-year-old high school teacher from Bengaluru.

She also stressed that it is very disheartening to see that female professionals are still being judged and even their skills are under scrutiny because of the kind of clothes they wear.

Unfortunately, the misogynistic nature of society extends beyond clothing choices.

Mansi Singh, a school teacher in Gurugram shared, “A male teacher in my school got offended with my high-pitched tone since the question he asked with absolutely no authority got a reply with the same authority. Consequently, he followed me to my assigned classroom and yelled at the top of his voice. He kept on yelling till my whole class was jolted by his outburst. He did not pause until he was taken away by force by another teacher.”

These weird rules in academic spaces are obviously gendered. Another reason that we hardly notice is the normalised nature of this issue. We didn’t seem to be questioning these things in our day-to-day life.

Sometime back, Bengali actresses and Trinamool Congress politicians, Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty also faced discrimination and got trolled for choosing to wear Western attire on the first day of Parliament. People labelled both of them as inexperienced and incapable in the political space.

And while discussing gender and its dynamics is the need of the hour, it is not entirely about gender. There’s a bigger picture, which, Aakansha Menon, a proud feminist and artist from Mangaluru, highlights. She says, “Definitely, educating everyone about sex and gender roles at home is the first step of bringing about acceptance.”

“Be it about appearance, behaviour or voicing their opinions — women need to at least stand up for themselves even if alone. It makes a difference,” added Karuna Ezara Parikh, an author who hails from Kolkata.