Is it a woman’s style of dressing that invites trouble or the offensive glance of the male beholder? The much-debated topic was brought back to the fore in Kerala, with a surprise statement by the legendary singer K.J. Yesudas. “Women should not cause trouble to others by wearing jeans,” he said, during a speech at the Swathi Thirunal Music College in the capital as part of Gandhi Jayanti celebrations. “This kind of dress goes against our culture which values simplicity and amiability as the greatest qualities of a woman.”
Whatever it was that the accomplished musician wanted to drive home, it only succeeded in triggering protests, mainly from women with progressive views. Mahila Congress activists even took out a protest march demanding that he withdraw the comments. The social media was agog with derisive comments against Yesudas and many shared photos of his son and daughter-in-law wearing Ts and jeans. All of a sudden, the man with the golden voice who influenced the consciousness of generations of Malayalis with his songs and revolutionary views seemed to be treated as a representative of an irrelevant value system.
Bindu Krishna, President of Mahila Congress, condemns it as a shocking statement from such a famous singer who is also a senior citizen and grandfather. “Once, we had fought to gain the freedom to wear a dress. Now, they tell us which attire to wear? We can’t tolerate that. Even his daughters-in-law are wearing it. We want him to withdraw the statement. Though I have never worn jeans, I strongly believe that a woman has the right to wear what she likes. It is not the dressing style of a woman but the perverted mind of an aggressor that causes problems in society,” she says.
Software engineer Navmi Krishna terms it a ridiculous comment from a great person and opines he could have been a little cautious before saying it. “It is a trendy outfit. You can change your look every day by adding
this with either T-shirts or kurtis. I have never felt bad in this outfit. Also, if this outfit is the problem, what do you have to say about rape attempts against kids?” she asks. Yesudas is not in tune with the changing moral values, says writer S. Saradakutty. ”It is quite strange to see a man who had sung so many descriptive lines about the female body now feels girls shouldn’t be wearing jeans. While living in America, he could not have missed the ever-changing trends in fashion. He is a respectable person in the society, so his words carry importance. His statement has actually come as a blow to all the work we had been doing to fight atrocities against women,” she observes. She argues that the comment degrades the male community too. “Are men so fragile to get provoked just by seeing a woman in jeans? I am told that boys in that auditorium did applaud when Yesudas said this,” she says.
Anju, a student of Swathi Thirunal Music College, was one of those who listened to the singer. She, however, did not find anything greatly offensive. “It was just a piece of advice from Dasettan just like our teachers do in the class. While talking about the independence of students in America, he said, ‘Here children depend upon their parents for everything, even to buy a pair of jeans’. Then, he continued talking about our culture, and said, ‘We must wear an attire that would gel with our culture’. Before broaching this topic, he had said that nobody should get hurt when he says things openly. It is true that he said women should cover up what should be covered, but not in the vulgar manner in which media projected it. I think politicians have twisted the comments to suit their purpose. For us, it is not an issue. We felt sad that it has become a controversy,” she says.
