Kerala Woman's Arrest Over Posting Video With Toddy Raises Questions On Misogyny

A recent video that went viral on the internet landed a Kerala-based woman in trouble and the reason behind it is rather misogynistic. The woman got arrested for posting a video with toddy, a local alcoholic drink, on her social media.

Thrissur native Anjana was at a popular toddy or kallu shop in Alapad, Kerala along with four of her female friends waiting to welcome one of their husbands. She decided to film a video of her with toddy to post on her social media.

However, the Kerala Excise Department arrested her for justifying and promoting liquor consumption. The Excise Department was criticised for arresting her when there have been many men in the past who have posted videos of them drinking toddy and no action was taken against them. The woman was later released on bail after much criticism.

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Kerala Woman With Toddy Arrested

For those who don't know, toddy is an alcoholic drink local to Kerala prepared with coconut and palm tree sap. However, the drink has very low alcoholic content, even less than the alcoholic content in many beers. It is also reported that Anjana did not even drink toddy and just posted a video with it. The severe action taken against her is being criticised for being sexist as men tend to escape any such actions even after publicly drinking and promoting toddy on several occasions.

The incident clearly shows the difference in the treatment of men and women. The patriarchal society wants women to be poised and well-behaved while men are allowed to do whatever they please. Things such as drinking alcohol and smoking which, at one point were a status symbol among men, are still considered inappropriate for women. Society frowns upon adult women who choose to drink and smoke and tend to judge their character by their beverage choices.

An advanced and evolved society like ours is not comfortable with women drinking or smoking while they seem to be comfortable with men drinking or smoking in public. There have been numerous incidents of men creating a scene after drinking more than they can handle and harassing women, however, a group of women drinking light alcohol that hardly gets anyone drunk triggers our social responsibilities and lawful regulations.

Considering the fact that toddy shops have become extremely popular these days even among non-drinkers, the incident is disappointing and not expected from a government authority to discriminate between genders. While alcohol promotion is not appropriate, men and women should be equally punished for such an offence instead of just women being criticised for it.