It hasn't been a pretty picture for those who want to dress as they like in India. Moral policement are forever on the prowl. The usual contention has been that skirts, revealing dresses, indecent exposure, et al, provoke sexual assaults on girls/women. And, the targets of these attacks have primarily been students of schools and colleges. The Times of India has a brief timeline. [Link]
- Delhi, June 2005: The dean of University of Delhi's Kirori Mal College blames "revealing dresses" for inciting the off-campus gangrape of a student from northeastern India.
- Mumbai, July 2005: Mumbai Archbishop Ivan Dias asks people not to wear jeans, Tshirts and mini-skirts for Sunday service in churches.
- Mumbai, June 2005: Bombay University attempts to ban women from wearing mini skirts, tight tops and shorts. Vice-Chancellor Vijay Khole says a dress code would reduce sexual harassment and prevent rapes.
- Chennai, October 2005: Anna University of Technology imposes a dress code with Vice-Chancellor D Viswanathan arguing that certain forms of attire detracted from the seriousness of academic pursuits.
- Bangalore, May 2006: Bangalore University Syndicate considers segregated seating for male and female students, and even may be prescribe a dress code.
- Hyderabad, September 2005: Certain Muslim clerics protest against tennis star Sania Mirza's short skirts and playwear.
- Orissa, September 2005: The Orissa government slaps dress code on college students. As per the notification, no jeans either for boys or girls, neither are the latter allowed to wear any other Western attire like skirts or sleeveless tops
- Delhi, February 2006: Farah Aziz Khanum, a graduate student at Aligarh Muslim University, reports that she was receiving death and rape threats from other students at the university, because she wears T-shirts and jeans on the campus.
