Clothes do not define a woman!

Bryant Collins has said: ‘Never judge a book by its cover, until you’ve read the pages that are in between the book.’ Yes, it is so true, there is so much more to a woman than what she wears.

Almost everyone has an opinion on a woman's appearance and on how she should dress. Some people have the decency to keep it to themselves while others feel that it is their duty to pass comments on it. How many times have you heard the comment “look at what she’s wearing, she’s definitely asking for it!”? Say if a woman is dressed well, people will judge; if she is not dressed that well, people will judge too. We wear too little and it’s a problem. We cover ourselves up and it’s a problem. Whatever we wear or do, women never seem to be able to win in this world. You can just never win. But it shouldn’t have to be that way.

As a society, it is common judging a woman’s purity by her choice of clothing. I’ve heard people blame victims of sexual assault and harassment, solely based on the fact that they were dressed in a certain manner. The mentality of our so-called society is that because of these short clothes girls are being raped! This is the most hilarious statement I have come across. The first question people still ask when a woman is raped is- what was she wearing? As if only women showing skin are raped. As if infant girls in baby frocks or middle-aged women fully dressed are guaranteed sexual safety in our society. Trust me, men have raped women from all ages, right from a three-year-old baby girl to seventy-year-old women. As horrific as it sounds but they have even done horrible stuff to animals.

Being at work, I’ve noticed that people particularly women are often criticized on what they wear to workplace — ‘Why are they so dressed up for work? It’s only a workplace.’ Or it could be the opposite, ‘Why are they not dressed up?’

It’s more than just being judged though. Many women are harassed and threatened over their clothing choice. This is even worse for Muslim women who wear hijabs or cover themselves. It shouldn’t be a big deal because it’s what they want to wear, and yet these women get stared at and criticized on a daily basis. All of it just for pieces of fabric!!

You would think that by now, society would have evolved enough to just accept others for who they are. Clearly, we haven’t made much progress in that aspect.

Lastly, we are all human beings, and we deserve respect from others no matter what we choose to wear. What women want is the freedom to choose. And not be judged/groped/degraded for it.