Ritu Tawade, a member of the civic body, first put forward the idea a couple of months ago, after a series of rape cases in the country. She said that the public display of scantily clothed mannequins in shop windows "indirectly or directly leads to rape". Mrs Tawade believes that they are titillating for men. "It's a Western thing, our society doesn't allow them," she said. Mrs Tawade, 39, has already persuaded some shopkeepers in the area that she represents to remove bikini-clad mannequins. "It's embarrassing for girls. They come up to me and complain about display of mannequins," she added.
Shopkeeper, Behlul Shaikh, who has semi-dressed mannequins in his shop window in central Mumbai, said he would abide by the authorities' decision. He doesn't think it will have an impact on sales. Salim Faqih, another shopkeeper in the area, said it would affect his sales but only slightly. He said that he wouldn't challenge the proposed ban but added that he didn't think semi-nude mannequins should be an issue. "Look at what girls wear today. They are dressed more scantily than our mannequins," he said. Interestingly, female sales assistants in a shop expressed their surprise at such a move. They said customers wouldn't know what "we sell" if they didn't display mannequins.
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Women shopping in showrooms where such mannequins are on display had mixed views. Welcoming the move, shopper Nandita said the ban would help reduce assaults on women. "Men may get attracted by these mannequins. They should not be displayed." Another shopper, Arti Bhadra, rejected the proposal calling it "stupid." "I don't think this leads to rape. It's all about the mentality. India is backward in that," she said. Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu supports the idea. He said that he believed scantily clad mannequins invited the unwanted attention of men, in a city that has seen a surge of sex crimes.
Anti-Western bigotry wrapped up as civic concern. If the men of India have such little self-control and so low a regard for the women of their society that the sight of a piece of plastic wrapped in a few strips of cloth causes them to commit rape and other sexual assaults then there is something seriously wrong with Indian men or, more likely, Indian society.
ReplyDeletePut your own house in order before trying to pass the blame onto someone else.
to bos--- exactly.... the problem isn't the west... the problem is that mumbai is in india... seems that british rule might have been a benefit for that country
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