‘Did she ask for it?’ (Indian women and an avalance of pink chaddis - panties)

[ensho]

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_6401.shtml


The spectacle of women being assaulted in public is nothing new in India. So when the Hindutva “moral police” party Ram Sene, headed by Pramod Muthalik, sent some thugs to beat up women in a Mangalore pub, the whole incident might have blown over in a few days -- if it had not been for Nisha Susan.

Susan, a young journalist from Bangalore, started an online Facebook group called “A Consortium of Pubgoing Loose and Forward Women,” that urged members to send loads of pink chaddis (“chaddi” is Hindi for underpants) to Muthalik’s party office in Hubli as an ostensibly humorous, but really rather scathing, response to his attempt at moral policing. Susan’s group has since swelled to over 55,000 members from all over the globe, and its current activities are still available on Facebook.

The consortium’s Valentine’s Day campaign was a success, too, with hundreds of panties winging their subversive way to Ram Sene headquarters. However, post-Valentine’s Day in the cities of Mangalore and Bangalore, several women were attacked and threatened by strangers. Susan and fellow activists responded by launching a “Take Back the Night” event and other initiatives. And so the struggle continues.

But I don’t intend simply to recount the consortium’s successes or analyze Muthalik’s actions and the ongoing attacks on women. Rather, I want to focus on one particular aspect of the way that violence against women is perceived in India.

-very interesting snip-
---------------------------------


long live the pink chaddis and hugs and kisses to Susan and women.

Indian men should take notice and do some thinking.

[closeupready]

1. Wait - what?! "women being assaulted in public is nothing new in India"?

Is that true? :wow: Do something like that in the civilized world, and you'd likely be thrown in jail for a lengthy term.

[starroute]

6. "Civilized world"?

To paraphrase something my mother used to say, the Indians were civilized when Europeans were still living in caves and painting themselves blue.

I would expect it has a lot less to do with civilized values than with poverty and the cost of effective policing.

[ljm2002]

11. Or to quote Mohandas Gandhi on the topic...

..."What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea."
- Mohandas Gandhi

[WillyT]

2. K & R !!!

:kick:

[closeupready]

10. Sorry, I apologize - that came out wrong.

I meant, amongst people who consider themselves civilized, since assaulting other people is not civilized behavior.

[Solly Mack]

3. k/r

[aquart]

4. Let me know when an Indian man sticks up for these women.

Isn't it amazing how morality police only find themselves attacking women?

[whathehell]

5. Bingo!

[riderinthestorm]

9. +1. nt

[uncommon]

7. That is seriously fucked up. I hope she continues fighting back.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.