NEW DELHI – Several well-known and progressive women’s organisations including All India Coordination of POW PMS IJM on Tuesday called for the cancellation of the May 7-31 72nd Miss World Beauty Pageant in Hyderabad. They criticised the BJP-led federal government for consistently allowing these obscene events. They said the commodification of women’s bodies must be stopped.
In a joint statement, they stated that for decades, these pageants have been held in various countries around the world, each time amid protests. In our country, too, in 1996, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) held the pageant in Bengaluru amidst heavy protests. Activists of many women’s organisations were arrested during the protests. Finally, the swimming pool round was shifted outside India. ABCL suffered monumental losses as it became a very low-key event due to very poor attendance, majority of the conscious people boycotting the show. A Miss World beauty pageant was held in Mumbai last year after 28 years.
The organisations said such events actually denigrate women’s dignity and modesty, making them a commercial commodity.
“This is how capital devalues women – it turns their bodies into a commercial commodity. It lures girls to dream about a golden world of fame and recognition, but the real picture is dark and brutally exploitative. And in India, with its semi-feudal culture, when the girls of our homes face sexual violence on roads, in workplaces, all fingers point at the girl – her dress, her face, the hour, her going out alone, her very existence. Under the guise of intellect and rights over the body, it is actually a trivialisation of bodily autonomy. Rights over the body primarily mean control over one’s sexuality, and exposing body parts to be exhibited before an audience gathered for this purpose, with the event being broadcast live worldwide, actually creates a false narrative of women’s empowerment. It simply serves to sell the products of large companies by objectifying women’s bodies,” the women’s organisations said.
With the state’s tourism department’s slogan of “Telangana Zaroor Aana”, the government has made a concerted effort to bring such a pageant to the state. Ironically, a beauty pageant has been chosen to invite domestic and foreign tourists to showcase the state’s rich handloom heritage, wonderful tourist destinations, and rare cuisine. These specialties can be exhibited through any other international exhibitions, conferences or gatherings. There is no need to make Hyderabad a venue for this sort of objectionable contest where women are paraded, the organisations said.
They said it is the BJP-led Union government which has permitted these events continuously. “This is a tragic yet clear revelation of what the Hindutva forces actually stand for when they assert themselves to be cultural custodians. They glorify the mother going to work with her child tied to her back, but neither enforces crèches, nor working hours, nor safe workplaces, nor safe streets, nor adequate clothing or minimum wages, nor even justice in cases of sexual violence at the workplace,” the organisations pointed out.
They also slammed the Congress-led Telangana government, saying it has failed to give women of Telangana minimum security, to create minimum schemes for employment of youth and women, which ignores many important aspects like education, health, rural and urban development, all of which affect the women of the state.
The statement was released by All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), All India Mahila Sanskritik Sanghatan (AIMSS), All India Coordination of Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) and the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW).
