New Delhi: Chandigarh administration is now policing the length of the skirts. It says don’t wear a short skirt when you go to pubs in the Union Territory. This is not the first time the dress of women has led to a controversy in India.
In June 2015, Kolkata’s Scottish Church College had banned round-neck t-shirts, shorts and slit skirts which was condemned by students as well as the public. Instructing the students to come in "unostentatious dress", the college principal had said that clothing worn to the college should reflect the seriousness and importance of the learning environment. “Therefore, students' attire is expected to be based on modesty, neatness and safety on the campus," read a notice put up by the college authorities which had led to protests.
A few months back, Indigo Airlines had barred a woman from boarding a flight for her “inappropriate” skirt. The airline staff had rudely told her that she couldn’t board because what she was wearing was too revealing. She was travelling from Dubai to Delhi via Mumbai.
In 2014 a Haryana village panchayat had banned girl students from dancing at cultural functions in educational institutions. Some schools in Rohtak district have barred girl students from Class 7th to 12th from wearing skirts directing them to wear salwar-kameez instead.
Several villages in Haryana have also barred college going girls from using mobile phones. They claim that girls elope with boys if they are allowed to use cell phones.
Some time back, Goa minister Sudin Dhavlikar had linked bikinis and short skirts to rising sexual crimes in India’s most favourite destination. He had demanded a complete ban on wearing them. "For their own safety, women should not wear bikinis on public beaches," Dhavalikar had said.
Such bans are not just India specific phenomena. An all-girls school in UK has banned senior students from wearing short skirts, instructing them to wear "sober" suits and minimal makeup in bid to keep the pupils "committed to learning". St Margaret's School, a boarding school in Bushey, Hertfordshire, has banned A-level students from wearing short skirts.
In another incident a headmistress, who sent home dozens of schoolgirls for wearing short skirts and tight trousers, claimed she was only protecting 'hefty' pupils from being bullied.
The headmistress Tracey Jones caused uproar when she sent 29 girls home from Lord Grey School in Bletchley, Milton Keynes in England, for flouting uniform rules. She said last that she did not want boys to 'peer up' girls' skirts and that pupils needing to look 'demure and modest' reported “The Daily Mail”.
Comments
0 comment