NEW DELHI: Over the past few months, I have reported on the never-ending stream of reports related to sex, sexual violence and nudity. It has become an almost daily occurrence and one that has done little to push any dialogue forward. First, last year, model Sherlyn Chopra made headlines with her body, posing nude for an upcoming cover of American adult magazine Playboy. Then, the sadness and anger erupted when a woman was gang-raped and murdered on a bus in the country. Nobody intervened to stop the violent attack. Other, almost every morning, sexual crimes against women are reported and published in our newspapers here in India. The talk is about women, their bodies and their genitals. For Chopra, critics attack her, saying she is "immodest" and is creating a society that "objectifies women" and ultimately, they argue, is leading to the rise in sexual violence against women. I don't buy into this argument. India has become a country that is unsafe for women. We are attacked, abused, assaulted and murdered because we have vaginas. This is the reality. Men and boys see women as tools for their domination. Pornography and nude photography are not the problem. In fact, I have spoken to many women's rights activists who have told Bikyanews.com that the banning of porn has done more harm to "excite" men toward criminal activity. Women also argue that Chopra, by going nude, is an embarrassment to Indian society. "It is disgusting that she wants everyone to see her naked body and using sex to have a career," Reeta, a 34-year-old mother of two, told Bikyanews.com. "I find it hard to talk about empowerment when she does this." But, maybe this isn't the case. We live in a society that objectifies women, counts us as wives and the only real statistic we know of recently is the number of rapes and murders of women that have been perpetrated. It's a sad reality we Indian women face. Chopra's cover shoot with American adult magazine Playboy should be heading to the stands soon, and will likely spark frustration over the use of women's bodies in the country. For many, including book sellers in the Indian capital, Chopra is a huge pull, with expectations that her cover shoot for Playboy will bring in the rupees. "These magazines are usually gone within the first few hours when we them out," the shopkeeper told Bikyanews.com. "It is crazy on the days they are released. Men just grab them and start flipping through." For this man, who says the bulk of his earnings come from magazines that sell sex and nudity, the upcoming Playboy magazine – although officially banned in India – will feature the first Indian on the cover and is certain to be a massive hit. "We are looking to have twice as many, but that is if we can get them," he said. Maybe, just maybe, we should start looking at women like Chopra, whether we agree that posing nude and using sex to advance ourselves is what we believe in or not, deserve to have more say in the future of Indian society. She is not bowing to social norms, but at the same time she is not being, as many male officials have said off the record, "being a whore." This double-standard in India must stop. We must be outraged not at the female body, but toward the acts of horrific violence that are persisted daily against women in this country. Maybe it is time for us Indian women to all get naked and show men that we are strong, powerful and respect our bodies to do whatever we want with them. Maybe. BN
