The comment on women's dressing made by the Principal of Mumbai's Polytechnic College has not gone down well with women across the country. Social Media is flooded with memes, which you can't have missed. Here's a quick look at reactions that had the hashtag #DressLikeAnIndianWoman trending.
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SheThePeople.TV spoke to young women studying in different colleges about their take on the issue.
Rashi Goel, studying law in Delhi, says,
"Dressing in itself is a complete word and does not need to be followed by "like a girl" or "like a boy". For me, dressing means to wear something that you are most comfortable in. I fail to understand how wearing a sweatshirt and jeans makes me less of a woman? And worst, how does it affect my body organs? All this coming out from such the principal of an educational institute is extremely shocking. What kind of a a civilisation are we heading towards?"
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Abhidha Sharma, a photography student, dismisses the whole notion of looking like a woman as very stupid.
"I like comfortable clothing. I usually wear jeans and sweatshirts and pair it up with a pair of sport shoes. Since I travel a lot everyday, sport shoes are the best pick. But unfortunately for some reason that attracts a lot of stares and people even come and offer me their fashion advice as to how there is something called 'heels' and 'wedges' that girls are meant to wear. Ummm.. I know about them. Duh! And how can you forget that one day when you wear something ethnic and almost all the eyebrows in the room raise and all you hear is people saying " you look like a girl today!" What do I look like otherwise???"
Jyoti Sharma, a Political Science student from Delhi University, wonders what men dressing up like women have to go through.
"Behave like a woman, eat like a woman, speak like a woman and now! Dress like a woman. It is quite sad that even after the release of films like Pink which expose the hypocrisy of modern society, educational institutes still impart such kind of an education. Talking about gender reversal, does she mean that boys wearing floral patterns and pink colour can start lactating or develop other feminine biological attributes?There are so many men who are required to cross-dress because their acting profession demands them to. Does that alter their thinking style?"
"There are so many professions that require women to wear proper uniforms? Should women stop thinking of building a career in army, navy or air-force? If they do, should they be warned about the health effects their career choices can have? Linking something so medical like PCOD to women's dressing sense is the most bizarre thing Indians can come up with," said Swati Tilak, a management student from Mumbai.
She further added that it is because of these chauvinists that India is taking so long to modernise.
Gunjan Sharma, an athlete from Delhi, cites everyday examples to show how "dressing up like women" can cause problems.
"What the principal of that college said is the most illogical statement I have ever come across. I am an athlete and it is mandatory for me to wear trousers or shorts. It helps me play without any discomfort. A statement of this kind demeans every woman who follows a particular code of uniform because of her nature of work. In fact, I know a friend who was working as an air-hostess in a reputed airlines. She is fed up of wearing the so-called "woman like" high heels everyday. This causes a severe pain in her calf muscles but she still continues to work. It is time we let women be the way they are. There are already so many issues we have to deal with because of our gender. Such derogatory remarks make our life hellish."
It is time we let women be the way they are. There are already so many issues we have to deal with because of our gender. Such derogatory remarks make our life hellish
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Nayan Gulati, a resident of Mumbai, gives an insight into PCOS:
"I really want to know what exactly is the meaning of dressing up like a woman What all does it entail and what are the repercussions of not dressing up like a woman? A lot of my friends are suffering from PCOD. It has to do with some hormonal imbalances caused due to lifestyle choices. They have been asked to reduce their intake of sugar and indulge in physical exercises for which they again have to wear "men like" clothes. Never had anyone of those thought that not wearing a particular kind of clothes can have such a disastrous consequence? This is a great discovery made in the subject of gynecology."
Ankita Gupta gave a plethora of other problems that women face.
"I am waiting for the day when people will stop perceiving women in relation to men. Women suffer from headache also,menstrual cramps also. Is there some significance there? What about postpartum depression? Does that happen because we used to speak to boys in school? In all, even highly educated people of our country responsible for disseminating knowledge have become agents of patriarchy. And they promote it through their own weird notions."
The young generation has made it very clear that they are not going to tolerate such sexist, misogynistic comments, not even in the name of education.
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