Decoding The Curious Case Of Shaming Women For Their Clothing Choices

We stand in 2023 and everyone's odd interest in shaming women for their sartorial picks doesn't seem to end. Among the long list of shaming that comes a woman’s way daily is persistent outfit shaming. Step out in a body-hugging outfit at any time of the day and the judgemental stares that you will receive will definitely leave you utmostly uncomfortable, to say the least. People will be quick to judge your character and your intentions just with the clothes you opt for.

Interestingly, the judgements aren't restricted to certain occasions. Be it at a wedding party, get-together, puja at home or a casual outing, our society knows exactly how to make us feel ashamed of our fashion choices and our bodies. While some shaming comes as a straightforward judgement, others are just pure intentions to 'help' and 'protect' us.

Women, Not Free Beings

When a political leader recently expressed his displeasure over women and their outfit choices, I wasn't surprised a bit. In an interview, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said that women look like Surpanakha (a demoness in Hindu mythology) because of the dirty clothes they wear. He further remarked that God has given women good bodies and they should wear nice clothes.

No matter how big a controversy the political leader's derogatory remark led to, I feel it all comes down to one thing time and again, women, their existence, and their freedom.

While the constitution of the country we inhabit states that each individual has the right to live freely, most people often forget that women too are human beings and deserve to live a life on their terms. Why do women not get the space to be free beings? Why are their choices questioned? Let's go back. Women have been deprived of their fundamental rights and treated as second-class citizens for the longest time.

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Women, Not Powerful Enough

Even though women are born as any other being, over the years they are schooled that they aren't powerful enough, cerebrally and physically to make choices. The patriarchal mindset hasn't changed a bit.

I remember how my mother would ask me to take approval from my father before I stepped out in a skin showy outfit. It isn't new. Most women in the country have this deep-rooted notion in their heads and despite the debate around progression, it doesn't go away. These little things are normalised in a way that all of us women anyway fall for it and accept naturally.

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I will share another interesting anecdote, I recently spoke to a woman and while I was discussing freedom, I was told women now work and have rights previously they didn't have but they should limit it. What surprised me here was not that it came from a woman but the fact that a woman's freedom, a fundamental right, is measured unlike for any other human being. Why does society have a scale to measure a woman's freedom in the country?

This isn't about a political leader's remark, this isn't about women, it is about the mindset. The mindset that makes us look at a woman as an inferior being. We can't expect a change anytime soon but trying to do our part won't hurt a bit. Don't you think?