MTV Roadies Raghu should teach Indian politicians!

Feb 7, 2012 was a day filled with bizarre moments in Karnataka assembly, that saw the world waking up to the news of two ministers watching porn clips on mobile phone during a debate in the floor of the House. If reports are to be believed, the other sober ministers who were meditating on the reasons for the rise in sexual encounter were virtually justifying the assaults on women.

During the course of the Ministers indulging in some private viewing of some explicit images, the respected Ministers were arguing in Assembly that it was the way of dressing of women that lead to their assault or harassment.

The Ministers fail to understand that many women in the so-called respectable sari gets violated and is subject to gruesome harassment by sick-minded-rapists. They missed out on the important point that 'sleaziness' lies in dirty minds that eventually lead to sexual assaults and not in the dress one wears.

The Ministers were citing the various cases that have surfaced in Assembly like the sexual violence cases in education institutes, especially the case of the principal of a college in Hunsur in Mysore, exploiting a girl; the headmaster of Trio World School in Bangalore sending erotic messages to a class 7 student; a physical education teacher trying to rape a class 9 girl, so on and so forth.

But what appeared outlandish in the midst of all this was the ministers arguing that it was victims themselves responsible for the crime meted out to them, thus making them culpable of the perverted act perpetrated on them. Opposition leader in the council, Motamma posed a question citing why a female student was present in the principal's house in absence of his wife (Hunsur case). It sounded as the Opposition leader was blaming the victim for the harassment committed on her, doesn't it?

If you thought this argument bordered on the absurd, there were other ministers who argued for a law to regulate women's clothing, which in turn will purportedly clamp down the sexual harassment against women in the state. However, the idea of holding the 'clothing' responsible for this crime shows the mere failure of a legislative system to address the core problem.

This reminds me of another similar incident where Andhra Pradesh DGP V Dinesh Reddy kicked off a furor over his views on the increase in sex related cases in the state. The 'top-cop' blamed the fashionable ways of women dressing for the rise in sexual crimes. Film producer and MLC E Krishnappa and Legislator Jaggesh also shared similar sentiments on the matter.

Krishnappa was quoted as saying that, "such incidents would not take place if women dress decently..."

Just because a woman dresses in a trendy way, it doesn't mean in any way that she is 'available' or an open invitation for sexual assault. An immoral man with the hunger for flesh and skin and no respect to women's feeling go ahead and prey on the lady irrespective to whether she is in a saree or a sexy outfit.

This was recently highlighted in an MTV roadies show, where it was shown Raghu Ram and Rajiv (the shows producers) badmouthing candidates who have a narrow view of women's dress sense and their hollow view of women's lifestyles. It seems to me that we need people like Raghu and Rajiv to drill some hard and real facts into the head of the netas.

Above all, remember, it is not women in sassy clothes that needs counseling or advice to change her lifestyle rather, men with loose minds and notorious attitude towards females who need better psychological treatment.