In Bhopal, The Gujarati Community Passed A Rule That Stops Women From Dancing At Weddings. What Rubbish Is This?

I am someone who doesn’t do well with restrictions that are utterly baseless. Actually, I don’t do well with restrictions. My freedom and my space are the most important thing for me. This is largely due to my liberal parents the fact that I have been born and bred in a city like Mumbai. Or so I think. I sometimes wonder, what my life would look like had I been raised somewhere else. I probably would’ve crushed under all sorts of ridiculous norms like the one the Jain and Gujarati Samaj in Bhopal just passed.

Hailing from a Jain family, I know that there are like a thousand things we are restricted from doing anyway. Non-veg is a stretch when you aren’t even supposed to eat onions, garlic and potatoes. Some Jain families take it a notch forward by avoiding bread as well, I don’t know how they survive but they are staunch believers. But apparently those limitations were not enough because the Jain and Gujarati community in Bhopal has also decided to ban pre-wedding shoots, male choreographers at sangeets and women from dancing at wedding processions. They claim it is against their culture. Yeah, it is so ridiculous I don’t know whether to laugh or be pissed at this act of blatant sexism.

When a news agency spoke to the President of this Samaj he said “The pre-wedding shoots that are being recorded will be stopped. We are issuing a circular and are spreading the message by circulating the letter. We have also requested our members to stop choreographer’s entry in the name of ladies dance function.” He also added that anyone who rebels against this new norm will be boycotted from society. A harsh punishment for a very harmless act, this is the definition of a good decision *rolls eyes*

Also Read: 7 Hindu Wedding Traditions With Sexist And Bewildering Origins That We Can Do Away With Now

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As someone who has lived in a Jain family, I like to think I understand the norms and traditions of our very complicated religion. Pre-wedding photoshoots and women dancing in wedding processions is not against our culture. This just seems like the thinking of a bunch of bored, backward old men who think if any misconduct takes place, it is the woman’s fault. Why don’t they put a clause in there are prevents the men from misbehaving with women in the first place? Of course, they won’t do that, after all a man needs to have fun, right?

The President of the Bhopal Jain Samaj went on record to give us the reason behind this utterly shit decision. He said “Now in Jain society, neither pre-wedding shoot will take place, nor would male choreographers be allowed to enter the function. One of my gurus advised me to put a stop on this as according to him it was obscene.”

Also Read: The Dalai Lama Apologised For The Deeply Sexist Joke. It Was Misunderstood. We Don’t Think So!

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After reading this, I felt like I was living in the 1940s. A guru advised him to stop women from having fun at weddings because it is considered to be obscene? Seriously, can someone please look up the definition of “obscene” and email it to that guy? Oh wait, he probably doesn’t know what an email is. You know we complain about how women are not empowered and are still living under the thumbs of the men? This is the perfect example of the kind of ridiculous mindset we need to change if we ever want to rise above this BS patriarchy.

It doesn’t end there, the Jain and Gujrati Samaj has requested all Gujrati communities across the country to follow suit. So essentially, they want women to just sit at home, do household chores, bear children and not have any fun at all? Besides, why are men still dictating what a woman should and should not do? Women need to be the ones deciding what is the definition of “obscene” for them.

Guys, if we can’t move forward can we please not move backward?

https://thehauterfly.com/news/sexist-rule-restricting-the-movement-of-women-officers-in-the-army-is-finally-done-away-with/