Provocatively Dressed

To Moral Brigade(s) and their Supporters,

I think we need to realise that frivolous terms like Provocative Dressing might make sexual assaulters feel that the responsibility of preventing sexual assaults lies with the women.

Violent men are helpless victims of provocation?

Also, when we say women must not dress provocatively we must remember we are beginning to sound like Taliban. (Now we wouldn’t want that?)

We also need to keep in mind that we are talking about adult citizens here, they have the right to vote, they can get a driving license, and they can even own property or start an independent business! And often do and very successfully too. (I understand that can make anybody painfully jealous, it does seem wrong that they should do so well despite the major hurdles their gender faces ... but women these days are like that, give them a chance and they fly, reach the sky, and even the moon. Accept it.)

Your over enthusiasm and interest in her clothes might lead some to believe that you are looking at women more than you should be. (Most women consider such unwanted attentions very revolting; they might suspect your morals).

Your insistence in deciding the correct code of dressing here is against the law. (I am assuming most of you offenders and supporters have not been to school, so I am simplifying it for you.)

Instead we need to ensure that men are guided very firmly about the acceptable code of their own conduct. They need to get it very clear that tight jeans and noodle straps are poor excuses for criminal acts against other equal (even if they are better qualified, they are only equal) citizens.

We need to concentrate on providing a secure academic and emotional foundation to create a nation of women who do not hold themselves responsible for any and every atrocity committed against them. Your own mothers, daughters, sisters and wives also will benefit more from this (much more) than from being taught how to dress.

I know of thousands of women who have not benefited in anyway, when they were compelled to cover themselves from head to toe in traditional attire. Their families, specially their children have suffered because these mothers were often made too weak, by such controls, to stand up for them in all so many ways children need their mothers to....so it seems wearing traditional clothing does not automatically make you a better mother, sister, daughter, citizens, wife, woman etc.

Strong mothers and strong women make a strong nation.

You think it is only about drinking in the Pub? The dinking in the Pub is just symbolic (Just like PCC is). You understand symbols? Like bangles for weakness? Like Duryodhan and Duhshsan for ... if only you had some education, it would have been simpler to explain. But let me try ...

When a nation overlooks an act of violence against it’s citizen only because they are women, they are not creating a very confident generation of women.

Let me try and speak your language again,

...these women are going to raise the future of this nation... Please let us stop treating them like they have no thinking capacity!

And this is a nation where women are anyway having difficulty even being born. We make it tougher for parents to have daughters, and for those daughters who are born to feel safe, let alone feel free.

Women (and men) need to be able to decide for themselves how they dress, what careers they choose, when and to whom, if at all, they marry or live with without marrying.

Because we have hungry families, and unemployed men, and no drinking water, and houses which flood every monsoon.

Tomorrow you might find even a girl’s face, eyes, lips or feet provocative? How are you guys going to survive?

I think we need a stricter code of conduct for men like you here.

A bit of gentlemanly behaviour and discipline will benefit you in your lives. Women are now everywhere. And we will see them as bosses, better drivers, being able to afford better recreation ... (I understand the surge of envy, but you really have to work harder, just being born a male is not really important any longer, at least in their circles...). Many of them come from families where success is more important than marriage and children are. (Yes I am aware that this is all too much to digest, it seems these women come from a different planet, well in a way they do.) Many are happily married with children, oh yes and their husbands are aware that they drink, and talk to men in their office and also outside but no, they don’t drag them by their hair for that ... (You ask, ‘Why not?’. Let’s just say, self confidence does that to men. And women too. You won’t understand ...)

The world has changed too much while you were worrying about which caste or religion or language or region was being victimised.

But it’s never too late. You just need to understand that they are your equal. No matter how much better they earn, what fancy cars they drive, how much more fun they seem to have, how much better they look ... they are only your equals.

As for their clothes, for all you know there is probably a future scientist behind that Rakhi-Sawant-dress-alike.

Get a life.