The letters which appeared on Wednesday in response to Krithiga Balasubramanian's article “Can't women have their space” (Open Page, Aug. 29) showed how narrow-minded many people still are. A salwar kameez is a decent dress but three-fourths is not?
Women's minds are conditioned such that some of them can look at things only from men's perspective. If men wear close-to-nothing, it is their right — because they are men. And the man Krithiga mentioned need not have been drunk. When men step out of their homes, they are different people. I've heard youngsters pass vulgar comments at women old enough to be their mothers.
Renisha Christie,
Coimbatore
I am sure the man the author has referred to in her article would have passed vulgar comments on a woman wearing a sari too. It is not what a woman wears but a man's level of decency that is the point of focus here.
Deepa Nagaraj,
Bangalore
The article has certainly not been written in a fit of anger but has illustrated the harassment women face on the streets everyday. Judging women on the basis of their appearance is a blatant example of patriarchy.
Have we ever heard anyone saying men should be dressed decently? Why do men, who get “provoked” by clothes, hardly get “provoked” by domestic violence, female foeticide or environmental degradation?
Anuradha Singh,
New Delhi
Why are dress-codes, decency standards, culture, etc., applicable to women alone? I haven't seen a single woman passing remarks on a man — no matter how he is dressed. It is time we changed our attitude towards women and looked at them as fellow human beings, not mere ‘objects.'
Amit Sharma,
New Delhi
