Cambridge: A group of Indian students at Harvard conveyed a simple message that a woman’s body is her own, and her clothes are never an invitation.
The students have posted a series of photographs on Facebook. Some of them chose to go topless, some didn’t. But their message is plain and simple: “A woman’s body is her own.”
“For all the women in India who have ever felt unsafe walking down a street, or been harassed, humiliated and shamed for no good reason (looking at you, The Times of India), we decided to do something about it. We want to start a conversation, and we want YOU to participate,†their Facebook page, US-India Initiative, says.
“Check out our campaign at www.embodyindia.tumblr.com, and read about why we’re doing this at www.harvardindiainitiative.wordpress.com. We invite all of you, wherever in the world you may be, to join the movement by taking your own photos, sending them to us and sharing them with the hashtag #embodyindia. It would be our honour to add them to our blog, and have you join our cause. Together, we can make a difference,†it added.
To walk down the street in India as a woman is to understand the complexity, discomfort surrounding feminism and women’s rights in India. Whatever one wears, however unengaged and stoic one may be, the very presence of a women in public, likely male-dominated space, ‘invites’ attention.
It’s a troubling phenomenon that involves the invasion of private space, the unwanted sexualisation of women, and a lack of autonomy. The buck for who will safeguard the rights of women in India is one that has been passed rapidly and frequently between many slippery hands: the government, the police or the civil society.
This issue doesn’t just concern women. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect. “We do not doubt that Indian men are capable of respect, love and affection towards women; and the movement we are launching includes both genders. It is time we speak meaningfully about these issues, and start to accept women for who they are and who they choose to be in the most holistic way,†the website quoted.