Barring male tailors from taking women’s measurements is not the answer — change attitudes instead

Radha Khan

Tailors contiguous are already successful information of losing their clientele to the trendy online (and brick-and-mortar shops) with their ready-to-wear clothing. The men moving successful these professions predominantly beryllium to little economical classes and castes. Sain, for instance, is simply a generic word for occupational castes of barbers — nai — and is classified arsenic OBC (Other Backward Class) portion galore section tailors are Muslim.

Most darzis are self-employed oregon enactment successful tiny boutiques/shops and are alert that thing untoward volition interaction their net and livelihoods. The aforesaid goes for men moving successful salons. Earlier, determination were barber shops for men and the salons for women were mostly staffed with women. This dilatory changed with liberalisation successful India starring to the emergence of unisex hairsbreadth and quality salons crossed the country. One of the archetypal specified chains was by the well-known hairstylist Jawed Habib called Habibs. The larger cities experienced these changes archetypal and smaller towns and cities person dilatory caught on. With a greater fig of financially autarkic women and expanding disposable incomes, women began to task retired acold more, including visiting salons. The conception of unisex salons besides caught on, with sizeable overlap successful services accessed by some men and women.

Salons often person unfastened level plans truthful that determination is small accidental of immoderate untoward incidental and unit are ever nether the scrutiny of management. The much intimate work, specified arsenic waxing and hairsbreadth removal, is astir ever done successful cubicles by women. CCTVs successful specified spaces would interruption privacy. Therefore, here, exertion and segregation are not the answer.

The thought of “bad touch” has travel from teaching children astir being vigilant and alert of appropriate/inappropriate big behaviour. To usage this arsenic a crushed for further policing some infantilises women and seemingly takes america backmost to the thought of zenanas.

Additionally, arsenic galore studies person shown, women are astir astatine hazard of unit and intersexual battle wrong their ain homes, astatine the hands of their husbands, relatives oregon household friends. It is simply a well-established information that India is unsafe for women. But the thought that the authorities indispensable beryllium seen to beryllium proactive successful preventing intersexual harassment and battle does not mean that it should make straw men and stigmatise definite professions.

What is needed is simply a alteration successful societal attitudes alternatively than much segregation, which comes with its ain acceptable of problems. It is rooted successful the thought that men and women cannot premix socially, that women beryllium to their families, and that the family’s honour resides successful them and their bodies.

Today, we person possibly go truthful inured to specified pronouncements that this connection doesn’t marque overmuch of a difference. We already unrecorded successful a precise segregated nine — beryllium it successful presumption of gender, caste, people etc. But determination are larger numbers of women retired successful nationalist spaces today. Laws that further enforce segregation and technological surveillance volition not guarantee that women are not assaulted oregon harassed — what is needed alternatively is simply a alteration of cognition and acold much intermingling betwixt the sexes.

The writer worked successful the improvement sector