When Courts Uphold Patriarchy: Sindoor, Mangalsutra, and the Legal System’s Bias

"I can see that you are not wearing a mangalsutra or a bindi. If you don't behave like a married woman, why would your husband show any interest in you?" the judge asked the woman litigant, as per a post by advocate Ankur R Jahagirdar on LinkedIn, bringing the entire incident to light.

You can read the full post here.

Ankur also highlighted another case where the sessions judge asked his client, a woman, to show “some flexibility” while mediating. The comment was linked to her demands around maintenance.

He quoted the judge saying, “If a woman is earning well, she will always look for a husband who earns more than her and will never settle for someone who earns less. However, if a man who earns well is looking to marry, he might even marry a maid who washes utensils in his house. Look how flexible men are. You should also show some flexibility. Don’t be so rigid.”

He added that such comments generally go unchecked, as complainants or onlookers have no set recourse.

Judges Passing Patriarchal Comments Isn’t New

This incident isn’t the first time that a woman has been criticized for not wearing a mangalsutra, sindoor or bindi. In 2022, the Madras High Court granted a man a divorce, stating that his estranged wife's decision not to wear a mangalsutra amounted to "mental cruelty of the highest order."

Read: The Red Revival: Redefining Sindoor Through Style and Fashion

In another case in Indore, a man was looking for the restoration of his rights after his wife had walked out of the marriage five years prior. The family court asked the woman to return to the husband’s home immediately, as she wasn’t wearing sindoor.

Indore Family Court Principal Judge NP Singh's direction highlighted, "When the statement of the woman was recorded in the court, she admitted she was not wearing 'sindoor'. 'Sindoor' is a religious duty of a wife, and it shows that the woman is married."

In 2020, the Gauhati High Court granted a man divorce while observing that the woman's refusal to wear the traditional symbols of marriage indicated her intention not to continue the marriage.

Sindoor, Mangalsutra, Bindi: Markers of Control

Sindoor, mangalsutra and bindi are rooted in patriarchy. They are solely markers of control that women have to wear, while there exist no similar markers for men.

Speaking to HerZindagi for a different story, Shaoni Shabnam, a sociologist who works as an assistant professor at St Xavier's College, Kolkata, said, “It (sindoor) establishes the centrality of a woman’s identity as someone’s wife, implying that she’s not available for other men, and, most importantly, that her husband has exclusive access to her sexuality and her body.

However, these symbols are so entrenched in the socio-cultural fabric of India that they’ve often gone on to be equated with beauty and purity. Shaoni said, “These cultural norms simply reinforce the power of the gendered ritual practices, in a heteronormative, patriarchal social order.”