A recent incident on LinkedIn sparked widespread debate and condemnation after a man criticised a woman's attire, specifically targeting her for wearing a saree in her profile picture. The Public Policy Consultant and lawyer, Ashima Gulati, shared the encounter in a LinkedIn post that quickly went viral, igniting conversations around gender bias, professional attire, and societal expectations.
Ms Gulati shared a screenshot of a message she received on LinkedIn from a man who advised her that the picture was "not ideal" for her professional image. The man implied that the way she wore her saree was not appropriate. The comment left Ms Gulati and many others questioning the deeper implications of such a statement.
In her LinkedIn post, Ms Gulati expressed shock and disappointment at the unsolicited advice, highlighting the underlying sexism in the comment. Ms Gulati voiced the frustration of countless women who face similar judgments based on their appearance rather than their abilities or achievements.
"Men will rape because I am wearing a sari not to their liking. Irony of receiving such messages/comments on my post calling for non-objectification of women in our daily lives, Bollywood and workplace is too hard to just pass," she wrote in her LinkedIn post.
She further wrote, "Some observations from the responses I received from a particular gender: Women entice men by showing their bodies, Women can safeguard themselves by not being in such situations by not working late night / not wearing clothes of their choices / etc, Men are enticed/influenced only by bodies and not by anything else in the society like media, daily jokes, etc, Only a particular economic group rapes!"
The post quickly gained traction online. Comments on the post ranged from supportive to outraged, with many expressing their disbelief that such views persist in modern society.
A user wrote, "I think the egoistic masculine patriarchy can't bear a women living like a human. Free from ownership. It's not some individual but a thought process getting passed down by many generations."
Another user wrote, "The sheer audacity, the sick mentality is what truly baffles me! It's always some shameless man himself to make a comment on a women on how she looks, what she wears, how she talk, walk and what not even eat. These disgusting men in our society should be taught a lesson for a life-time. So proud of you ma'am that you've gathered up the courage and pinned down a well needed shout-out!"
"You shouldn't have hidden his name. People like him need to be called out in public. Such pathetic mindset coming from working professionals is outright disgraceful," the third user wrote.
