Students at Harvard start the ‘emobodyindia’ campaign

Early last week, the Indian student community at Harvard University stood up in one voice, protesting Times of India’s stand against actress Deepika Padukone in the ongoing row.

As of Friday, other students from various countries, have joined in... creating what’s now being called the embodyindia campaign. Even the dean, Rakesh Khurana, jumped in to show support. “He’s a sport and it’s not surprising that he has joined students to spread the message,” a representative from the University said.

The students have also prepared a blog, explaining why they decided to go ahead with the campaign. The blog post said: “In their recent op-ed, the Times of India sarcastically asks Deepika whether she thinks that they should ask for her permission every time they print her picture. To the paper, consent may be a laughing matter, and public shaming is apparently an acceptable means of getting a point across.”

“Yet, in reality, publishing a picture of a person’s breasts, surrounded by red arrows and circles, is ultimately no better for a woman than being ogled on the street,” the post added.
“If we cannot expect the press — the philosophical ‘Fourth Estate’ and protector of our democratic rights — to show women respect, how can we start to expect respect from the state?” the blog asked.

The Harvard campaign has also asked Web users to send their photos. The campaign involves students from across batches of the famous University. The blog has also attacked the way women are treated in India. “We live in a society that views girls as an economic drain, and boys as an economic safety net. Girls, like property, are still chattel on the marriage market. On the streets, women are leered at like wares on display. Perhaps, it is no wonder then, that the Times of India feels that it,  too, has a claim on Deepika Padukone’s body. It is this very concept of ownership — the very idea that a woman and her body can possibly be owned — that the Bombay Times is perpetuating.”

“This country needs its institutions, its men, and its women to defend a woman’s right to equality and respect,” it added.