Be it the burkini row in France or Mahesh Sharma’s skirt advisory in India, if you are a woman, everything is done ‘for your own good’
How deliciously ironic, you might think, that the only two medals India won at the Olympics were by women — a silver in badminton from PV Sindhu and a bronze in wrestling from Sakshi Malik. Almost immediately, we heard how these medals were the reason why you should not kill girl children — they might be useful later on. Because what other purpose would a female have if not be useful? And if not, then who knows, perhaps murder is justifiable?
Women bathe in the sea in Marseille, France on Monday, after the burkini ban was struck down by a high court last week. Pic/PTI
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And how about the whole ‘burkini ban’ crisis in France, where some city councils decided that women who were covered up on a beach, rather than in a bikini for instance, were going against some moral principle of the Republic. Male policemen wandered up and down beaches looking for women who were flouting the moral principle of ‘less is more’ and pulled clothing off such immoral females. Once again, this was being done for the woman’s own good. These women had been forced into modesty and it was the moral duty of the French Republic to undress them out of it.
It was most gloriously unfair of the highest court in France to call this ban on wearing what you want, “a manifestly illegal transgression of fundamental liberties”. The court perhaps did not realise that men have a right to tell women what to wear and disrobe them when they disobey them.
Somewhere around the capital of India the other day, a woman was set on fire because she refused to marry someone. Perhaps if she had the potential to win an Olympic medal, someone would have thought of a less stringent punishment.
Also close to the national capital region, a Jain monk spoke out against female foeticide but he also explained how a woman’s role in life was to be a wife — subservient to the husband. This we have heard before from a Muslim TV evangelist, the head of a Hindu ‘cultural organisation’ and so on.
Speaking of culture, the Union ‘culture’ minister has kindly explained to women travelling to India that they better cover up for their own good. To this advisory has been added a nix on wearing short skirts (India’s Culture Minister, meet the Mayor of Nice). I am unsure why this rule applies only to tourists and not Indians, but I can almost imagine India’s policemen running around with rulers measuring hemlines. This minister had earlier stated that it is time to get rid of the evil influences of western culture in India and that wives, of course, must keep hot food ready for their husbands as they have for generations.
Is it then surprising that India’s new ‘surrogacy’ law has angered so many and confused so many others? Single men, single women and non-heterosexuals are not allowed to have children through a surrogate mother. Obviously, all these types of people are completely against Indian ‘culture’.
Therefore, only married couples can choose this route and no more surrogacy for hire, only ‘altruistic’ surrogacy. The argument can wander off into many directions and those who drafted it can claim that they did it for women’s own good. As one eminent lawyer connected to the ruling party said on television, “Just because you are poor, does that mean that you have freedom of choice”, or some such gobbledygook which points to why ‘culture’ needs a bit of good sense to blow through it now and then. Instead of intelligent safeguards to save commercial surrogates from exploitation, it’s out with baby, bathwater and all.
At the end of it though, it’s telling women what to do with their bodies. And assuming that because they are poor, they must be stupid. And, finally, how can a woman who has taken money to be a surrogate mother, make hot chapatis for her husband (her main role in life after giving birth to sons).
Several brave women in India are trying to enter temples and mosques into which they been disallowed. Women in Mumbai have just won one court battle to enter the Haji Ali Dargah and earlier they managed victory in another court battle to enter a Shani temple in Maharashtra. Cultural guardians of all sorts are up in arms.
Basically: don’t wear a skirt, don’t go out at night, don’t enter temples and dargahs, don’t have a baby for someone, become a wrestler and win an Olympic medal. For your own good.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist. You can follow her on Twitter @ranjona
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