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After Mumbai principal’s diktat to female students, Twitter mocks 'societal norms' with #DressLikeAWoman

While the principal of a Mumbai college said that dressing like men causes PCOS, telling women what they should wear has become a global problem

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A day after the principal of a college in Mumbai suggested that 'dressing like a man causes polycystic ovarian syndrome - or PCOS - #DressLikeAnIndianWoman began trending on Twitter.

Swati Deshpande, the principal of Government Polytechnic College in Bandra, a suburb in Mumbai, said, ""I have heard theories on why girls suffer from PCOS(Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) at an early age. When they dress like men, they start thinking or behaving like them. There is a gender role reversal in their head. Due to this, the natural urge to reproduce diminishes right from a young age and therefore they suffer from problems like PCOS."

This is how Twitter reacted to Deshpande's comment

 

PCOS is a hormonal issue and according to a 2015 report, 18 per cent of Indian women suffer from it. 

Currently, the women of the college wear the same uniform that men do - a white shirt paired with black trousers. However, if Deshpande's comments are anything to go by, then women will soon be wearing salwar kameez. Already, the college canteen has a notice in Marathi segregating spaces for men and women.This, according to Deshpande, will reduce the risk of harassment. 

While the school principal is guilty in this case, stories such as this one aren't uncommon in India. Last August, Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma asked female tourists to dress appropriately 'for their own safety'. Sharma had earlier even made a statement that going out at night may be acceptable elsewhere, but wasn't part of Indian culture.

In 2014, Asha Mirje, a member of a government panel for women,  said women too were "responsible to an extent" for rape and that their "clothing and behaviour" played a part. She later issued an apology, but said that she stood by her statemnts as they were her own.

The issue of women's dressing came up after the mass molestations in Bengaluru on New Year's Day. At the time, Mumbai resident Rameez Shaikh put up a Facebook post where he said, "After you’re done hearing their multiple horrific stories, ask yourself a simple question: Do all of them dress and speak in the same manner? Smoke, drink, have piercings, or do whatever is deemed against our ‘culture’? As a man, you can walk shirtless in a street thronged with 50 women without the fear of as much as being touched. Can a woman do that in a street full of men? As the Bangalore incident proved, they clearly can’t."

The hashtag #DressLikeAnIndianWoman, interestingly, is a derivative of the #DressLikeAWoman, which was created last week, after US President Donald Trump reportedly said that he likes his female staffers to 'dress like women' i.e. appear groomed to work. Several people took offence to his alleged comment and took to social media to voice their disgust. While celebrities did share their view points, one of the most retweeted stories was that of a cop who posted a selfie of her in uniform and the line, "I'll dress like a woman once you act like a president." Although the tweet has since been taken down, it was shared by BBC. Celebs, too, took to Twitter to share their #DressLikeAWoman moments. 

 

 

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