Editorial: Body blow for objectification

Earlier this week, the Kerala High Court set aside the criminal case initiated against Rehana Fathima, for posting a video of an ‘objectionable’ nature on social media. The footage pertained to the woman’s minor son and daughter painting on her semi-nude torso, which went viral under the hashtag Body Art and Politics. Fathima was previously charged under the Pocso Act and the IT Act. The High Court remarked that the depiction of the naked body of a woman cannot per se be termed obscene, indecent, or sexually explicit. The Justice went on to say that nudity must not be tied to the notion of sex, and that the mere sight of the naked torso of a woman should not be deemed sexual by default.

The Justice observed that such expressions need to be viewed within the context of what the subject intended to portray. In this case, the depiction had to do with the political expression of the woman, and artistic expression of the children. It was indeed harsh to label the innocent artistic expression as an act of using a child for sexual gratification. The HC also remarked that what is considered morally wrong is not necessarily legally wrong.

Many perspectives emerge from this ruling, which echoes developments across the world, with regard to a woman’s bodily autonomy. Social and moral norms differ from region to region. But even in some of the most progressive and liberal geographies, bodily autonomy is not an easy subject to broach. A few years ago, a big debate raged in the US regarding the right of women to breastfeed their infants in public, a cause that led to hashtag ‘free the nipple’. The tremors of it were felt in Kerala as well, where a model was photographed breastfeeding a baby on the cover of a Malayalam women’s magazine. It was only in July 2018 after new legislations were passed in Idaho and Utah, that breastfeeding a baby anywhere in the US came under the protection of law. One might consider it a strange irony in a land, where back in 1969, feminists and civil rights activists came together to kick off a Women’s Liberation movement, which involved the burning of bras, make-up, mops and other items.

Europe, which is considerably more liberal in matters involving bodily autonomy, has witnessed annual protests, where clothing is literally considered optional. Thousands of semi-naked activists, including both women and men, have gathered year after year in Pamplona, Spain to condemn the San Fermin bull-running festival. These protestors drench themselves in fake blood and disrupt traffic across the town, for which many are arrested, but none of them are charged with indecent exposure. In India, almost 20 years ago, following the rape and murder of a Manipuri woman, protestors in Imphal stripped down to voice their angst against the atrocities of military personnel.

Coming back to the case at hand, the court’s observations have come just in time. The spectre of patriarchy ensures that women’s bodies are governed by the male gaze, and subjected to the whims and fancies of morality, as deemed suitable by men. Decoupling the notion of nudity from sexuality could help land a decisive blow on the idea of objectification of bodies, something that should have been eliminated a long time ago.