"No Nighties, No Lungis" Rule In Noida Apartment Is Next Level Of Invasion Of Privacy

An apartment owner association in Sector Phi 2 of Greater Noida issued a request to all its residents, asking them to be mindful of their attire when utilising the apartment’s common areas and playground.

According to a Times of India report, the circular was issued by the Himsagar Apartment Owner’s Association on June 10, specifically asking residents not to step out of their flats wearing "lungis and nighties." While this move has been welcomed by many, some people have sharply criticised it as they felt the AOA was overreaching into people’s personal choices.

Dress Code At Noida Apartment

The AOA president, CK Kalra, told the news outlet that they didn't mean to discriminate against anyone but only requested residents to follow certain guidelines with regard to their outfits after receiving some complaints of people wearing "loose clothes" while practising yoga on the compound, which apparently made the complainants uncomfortable.

Kalra stated that a few days ago, some women complained to the AOA about a senior citizen doing yoga wearing a lungi. Initially, the association had requested that people follow the dress code verbally but later decided to put out a circular.

According to TOI, which obtained a copy of the circular, the announcements request residents to pay special attention to their conduct and dress while outside of society to avoid anyone objecting to their behaviour. The circular also noted that since children learn from adults, they are requested not to roam around the apartment premises wearing nighties and lungis, which are basically home wear.

While many residents were supportive of the move, there were mixed opinions from the various resident welfare association federations. The GB Nagar district development RWA supported the move, while the Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Association mentioned that it was not right to define or restrict people’s clothing choices.

Dress Policing At Apartment? Next Level Of Privacy Invasion!

Whatever the explanation given by the apartment association, this is a gross violation of people’s right to choose what kind of dress they should wear. Given that summer heat waves are highly unfriendly to Indians, it's no wonder that people are preferring to wear "loose clothes" while stepping outside their flats. A person’s attire should be based on what they feel most comfortable in, not what society approves of. What entitles society to moral police and dress police anyway?

The circular reads that the association had received complaints, but I’m just wondering why people are so obsessed with what other people are wearing instead of minding their own business. While, as a parent myself, I would agree with the statement that children learn from adults and that it’s necessary that we be mindful of our conduct, I wouldn’t expect the entire world to conduct itself in a certain way.

How long can we cocoon our children? They are going to step out into the real world and see a lot more things over which we can never exercise control. So instead, parents should focus on teaching children that clothing is an individual’s personal choice and no one has the right to dress police or moral police anyone.

Further, children should be taught to look at people as human beings and not as objects. Unless you objectify a woman, her "loose clothes" or "nighty" isn’t going to seem bothersome, is it? While most families are fine with women wearing nighties and men wearing lungies inside their homes, why should we objectify people who wear the same just because they aren’t part of our family? Isn't that something we should be ingraining into our minds and teaching our children as well?

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Image Credits: Housing

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