By Apurva Singh
Women politicians are supposed to wear traditional clothes to Parliament. Says who!? Is there a defined dress code to enter the Parliament? Hell no! Then what forbids a female politician from wearing jeans to the Parliament? The answer to this is the constant dress and moral policing done by the male politicians in the name of cultural preservation.
While women in India, despite struggling through and overcoming the patriarchal hurdles of the society, fight to climb the ladder of success and power, it is the mentality of a few chauvinists who try to pull them down by belittling them on grounds that have nothing to do with their achievements or capabilities.
No matter how strong an issue they put across, these female politicians cannot be dressed up in a western attire as sadly no one has to listen to what they have to say, the only thing everyone apparently focuses upon is the way they are dressing up because if a woman politician is wearing jeans or a western outfit to the Parliament or even in public she is jeopardizing and breaking the norms of the society and setting a bad example for the youth of the country.
These female politicians are generally seen in elegant cotton starched sarees and quarter-sleeved blouses and if they dare to wear anything different then their character is not only questioned but assassinated by the male politicians who suffer from a disease called foot –in-the-mouth and having useless opinion disease.
The fun part lies in the fact there is actually a list of best dressed female politicians on the internet, obviously not defined by vogue, which appreciates all female politicians for always being dressed up “traditionally”. Brinda Karat, Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani, Hema Malini are a few examples who are recognized for always dressing up ideally in public. But the point is will their voice not be heard if they dress up otherwise? Will wearing a western outfit undermine their capabilities and achievements? And the most important question being, who gets to decide that?
When male politicians are not prohibited from wearing shirts and pants to the Parliament, why is it that Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan face massive trolling and scrutiny when they wear full sleeved shirts and trousers and jeans to the Parliament, which covered almost all of their body. There is no particular dresscode which forbids them to wear jeans or skirt to the Parliament then why the outrage? Aren’t these women elected to work as representatives of the public? Then why can’t they dress up as they desire and represent thousands of females of the country!? The fact is that as soon as these women start making sense and target the actual issues of the country, even in the most powerful institution that is the Parliament of India, they are personally attacked by lame criticism involving disgraceful remarks on the way they dress up.
The problem lies in the fact that the male politicians are so used to compel these women politicians to wear sarees and not western clothes, is that, they forget the fact that ‘Saree’, which is supposedly the India’s national dress became popular with Indian women during the British rule which ultimately means that the concept of traditional modesty may not really have their roots in Indian tradition.
Whether it is the President of Indian National Congress, Sonia Gandhi or Lok Sabha Member Mahua Moitra, irrespective of where they come from or what they have to offer to the society, they are appreciated only for their traditional dresses and that is where we need to re-think if India is really progressing or is it all just a sham!
Who decides what women should wear to the Parliament?
