Critical Analysis Of The Indecent Representaion Of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 And Its Relation To Patriarchy
Author: LawSphereX
Category: General Law
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CRITICAL
ANALYSIS
OF THE INDECENT REPRESENTAION OF WOMEN (PROHIBITION) ACT, 1986 AND ITS RELATION TO PATRIARCHY Ishita Anand Gurjalwar & Bhavya Dixit, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
ABSTRACT
Through this paper, the author seeks to establish a relationship between Indecent representation of women and its relation to existing norms of patriarchy. Publicity and visual media play a major role in shaping various aspects of how one treat each other in a society. The history of women being represented a certain way can be traced back to the era when the first few important mythological texts of India were being written down. Several verses of the Puranas, Vedas and Manusmriti have found their way to how women are treated and presented in today’s print and visual media. Women, being the oppressed over a long period of time find it very difficult to establish their own image in the society. They have been trivialized to mere objects to satisfy a male’s sexual desires.
Such representations lead to violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution where women are denied the Right to live life with human dignity. However, the travesty of the Indian legal system is that though there are a plethora of laws to address the issue, there are no measures of punitory justice for stereotyped and derogatory portrayal of women. In order to combat this issue, the legislature has taken proactive steps towards protecting the image of women by implementing The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. The Act along with certain provisions of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita have helped provide the basis for punishing those involved in the publication and circulation of material that threaten the modesty of a woman. This paper helps in understanding the changes that have taken place in the societal sphere post the implementation of this Act.
Keywords: Circulation, Indecent Representation of Women, Patriarchy, Punishment, Sexualize
1. Introduction
Women constitute half of humanity and play an important part in the development of the country, economically and socially. India has had a diversified history of events which have enfolded over a long timeline. Indian cultural and social history point towards a gradual change of how women have been treated at the hand of society and specifically by men. In ancient India, women were given the status of ardhaangini which literally translated to a husband’s better half1. Indian mythological texts have depicted several strong women who take charge of not only their own lives but also of how they are treated in the society. Characters based on Kali ma and Sita ma are some of such powerful characters. Despite having a history of such rich culture, the treatment of women over the years have only changed for the worse.
Presence of patriarchy constantly dominating over the female population is a known fact. One of the way it gets reflected in the society is on the basis of how women are depicted in various forms of media and other visual channels. Indecent representation of women is a grave issue that plagues societies all around the globe. In India, the problem is particularly intense, with rampant objectification and sexualization of women in media and other forms of public representation. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act was passed in 1986 to tackle this problem head-on and eliminate the portrayal of women as mere objects of desire. However, the enforcement and effectiveness of the act has been called into question and the problem persists to this day.
This research paper focuses on the Indecent Representation of Women Act in India, examining its history, provisions, limitations and the challenges faced in its implementation. It also explores the impact of the act on Indian society and the progress made in addressing this issue over the years.
2. Women Representation over the years
Films and other means of visual representation have always been a way for people to escape their reality. It is one of the most consumed form of entertainment across the globe. Therefore, it becomes essential that one is aware of the kind of content being circulated to the audience as he or she could then become responsible on how the society views a particular class of people. Women have somehow belonged to this class for a very longtime. Women characters as portrayed in several films have always tended to degrade their image to mere objects. 1 Sweta Patil, “Women Oppression during Ancient and Medieval India- Analysis of Legislative Framework and Customary practices”, iPleaders, 2018, https://blog. ipleaders.
in/journey-of-indian-women-oppressionsince-ancient-daystill-the-present-day/ Highlighting their body features according to pre-determined standards has been a part of this culture for a very long time. Skin tone, weight, hair color and other such features became the key defining factors while portraying a woman in films. Starting right from the song in Slumdog Millionaire which kept referring to various attires of women in a derogatory manner that put their modesty at stake to current day songs (popularly referred to as item numbers) like Sheila Ki Jawaani, Munni Badnam Hui, Laila main Laila etc directly point towards the objectification of women. Despite people in certain small concentrations raising their concern and voice against such a representation with their effect remaining short term, a comprehensive shift seems to be still a far fetched dream.
2.1. Influence of Ancient Indian texts in women’s representation
Print and visual media have always been one of the most important modes of influencing people. In ancient times, these texts were in the form of Vedas, Puranas, Smritis and various other books written by sages over several years2. With their significance in the Indian culture, these texts were taken to their literal interpretation and widely followed across the country. Throughout these texts, women were majorly considered as properties who first belonged to their fathers, then their husbands and ultimately, their sons. Several aspects of these four texts have certainly portrayed how women were treated and supposed to be kept back then. In the Vedas, the gender roles for both men and women were strictly defined.
While men were supposed to support the family financially, work and earn for them and carry out other such duties, the role of women were to stay at home and look after the family, house and make sure that she serves to everyone’s interest and keep them happy. The Vedas in itself act contradicting to themselves. Certain verses such as “Let the female child be born somewhere else while the male child be born here” points towards such a disparity. In the Manusmriti, women were treated no better. Several restrictions such as their allowance to read vedas were taken away. They were tagged as the property of her father, husband and son. They were considered as devotees of her husband who were branded as the lord. In case they didn’t obey to their lords, several punishments such as feeding her off to hungry dogs were clearly mentioned in these texts.
Society, at times, however, fails to understand the kind of impact such texts have on the societal behavior of people.
2 Sable, Vivek, “Indecent representation of women in India”. 10.13140/RG.2.2.24692.17285 (2020).
The Puranas are one of the few texts that the country proudly follows. The depiction of women is no better here. They are told to be forever devotees of their husband till their death. The Brahma Puran also considers it to be the highest duty of the wife to immortalize her after the death of her husband. It is therefore true that the current representation of women in India has somewhere stemmed from the ancient Indian texts that went unquestioned for several years. This culture has been deeply rooted in India which is often flashed today under the wider umbrella of “Patriarchy”.
3. Role of Patriarchy in defining a Woman’s image in the Media
Patriarchy is a form of societal set up that establishes men at positions of dominance and control over the female population. Simple day to day examples that help ascertain its presence are when men are hired over women with same capabilities just because it is presumed that women must stay at home while men should work and earn a decent livelihood for the family. Such small yet significant examples exist in various ways and parts of the country. It is therefore safe to assume that men exert equal power in defining how women must be depicted and celebrated over print and visual media. Patriarchy strives in establishing how a women is to be seen in media, putting them to unrealistic beauty standards and creating an image appealing to the male gaze3.
This eventually got to be widely accepted and anyone who didn’t fit into this definition tended to be under the guards of “image dissatisfaction”.
3.1. Specific representation of women in Films
The way women are depicted specifically stem from the concept of the “male gaze”4. It typically means how men view visual media. Women become a major constituent of it. They are often sexualized in the way they are depicted that further establishes the point of the dominance men have over women as this satisfies the “male gaze”. Women are therefore considered objects of heterosexual male desire. Her feelings and the willingness to be portrayed so becomes of less importance as her body is the aspect that attracts the audience. Sexualization of women includes aspects over a wide spectrum which includes
3 Women’s UN Report Network, “Patriarchy-Beauty-Body-Media
Women’s Images and Challenges”, WURN, January 26, 2015, https://wunrn. com/2015/01/patriarchy-beauty-body-media-womens-images-challenges/ 4 John A. Welsch, An Investigation of the Effects of Male Nudity in Advertising on Product Brand Recall, 1981, Ph. D. dissertation, Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, No. 601. wearing short clothes to expose her body features, wearing tight clothes to highlight her curves and putting on make up to add on to her pleasing appearance. Visual media cater to this aspect and provide the audience with what they want. This helps them to draw and retain their audience. Coupled with these aspects is the systematic portrayal of certain levels of nudity and vulgarity. Statistics prove that around 25% of the movies portraying nudity is that of women while only 9% portrayed male nudity5.
This clearly draws attention to how obscene or indecent representation in media such as films are higher or more obvious for women than for men.
4. Fighting the Representation
It is a known fact that women have faced a history of oppression where they didn’t have the right to establish their own image and were constantly subjected to the dominating nature of men. In an effort to combat this and bring up the status of women by curbing their misrepresentation in various forms of print media, The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 was passed.
4.1. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 19866
The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 is a legislation passed by the Parliament of India to prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisements, books, films, paintings, writing, or in any other form. The Act aims to protect the modesty and dignity of women by preventing their objectification and exploitation through media or any visual representation. It recognizes that such representation leads to discrimination, violence, and atrocities against women, and must be prohibited to ensure gender equality and justice. The Act constitutes provisions for punishment, remedies, and measures for the prevention of indecent representation of women, making it an important tool for women's empowerment and protection.
The Act defines “indecent representation of women” as the depiction in any manner of the figure of a woman; her form or body or any part thereof in such way as to have the effect of being indecent, or derogatory to or denigrating women, or is likely to deprave, corrupt or 5 LaTour, M. & Henthorne, Tony. (2003),” Nudity and sexual appeals: Understanding the arousal process and advertising response”,Sex in Advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal, 91-106.
6 The Indecent Representation Of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 Act No. 60 of 1986.
injure the public morality or morals7. The Act majorly focusses on the Prohibition of advertisements containing Indecent Representation of Women and Prohibition of publication or sending by post of books, pamphlets etc containing indecent representation of women. According to the section, “No person shall produce or cause to be produced, sell , let to hire, distribute, circulate or send by post any book, pamphlet, paper, slide, film, writing, drawing, painting, photograph, representation or figure which contains indecent representation of women in any form: Provided that noting in this section shall apply to- any book, pamphlet, paper, slide, film, writing, painting, photograph and representation8. ” Under this provision, it is illegal to publish, distribute or sell any material that depicts women in a disrespectful, demeaning or vulgar manner.
The law was introduced to prevent the negative portrayal of women in media and literature and to promote gender equality. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 provide for stringent punishment for those found guilty of violating this law. The act defines indecent representation of women as any visual representation of a woman's body that is sexually appealing or suggestive, or is likely to arouse sexual desire in the viewer. The punishment for violating this law includes imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs. 2 lakhs. Repeat offenders could face imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to Rs. 5 lakhs9.
Overall, the Prohibition of publication or sending by post of books, pamphlets, etc containing indecent representation of women is aimed at promoting gender equality and protecting women from any form of derogatory portrayal in media and literature. The Act is a significant piece of legislation that aims to protect women's dignity and modesty by prohibiting the dissemination of offensive material that degrades and objectifies women. The act not only criminalizes the creation, distribution and sale of indecent representation of women but also provides for stringent penalties and imprisonment for violators. The act has been successful in curbing the issue to a certain extent, but its implementation remains a challenge due to inadequate enforcement and lack of awareness among the masses.
Therefore, it is essential to create awareness and ensure strict implementation of the act to safeguard women's rights and protect them from sexual objectification and exploitation.
7 The Indecent Representation Of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, §2, Act No. 60 of 1986.
8 The Indecent Representation Of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, §.4, Act No. 60 of 1986.
9 The Indecent Representation Of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, §.6, Act No. 60 of 1986.
5. Changes post implementation of the Act
The talk on relevant laws that protect the dignity of women has found its new wave. Article
21 of the Indian Constitution mentioning Right to Life does not merely talk about existence
but to live life with dignity10. This was effectively enshrined in the case of Maneka Gandhi V Union of India11 which stated that Article 21 comprehensively includes the Right to live life with human dignity. In the case of Chandra Rajkumari and Anr V Commissioner of Police12, it was held that beauty contests of any kind outrage the modesty of women and are punishable under Section 364 of IPC. Furthermore, the case of Chintan Upadhyay V Hema Upadhyay and Anr. 13 pointed towards the importance and effectiveness of the Act along with several sections and provisions of the Indian Penal Code. What constitutes obscenity, when seen in isolation can include different meanings for different people. This was resolved in the case of Chandrakant Kalyandas Kakodar v. State of Maharashtra and Ors14 it was held that there are no fixed rules to determine obscenity.
The court stated that “the concept of obscenity would differ from country to country depending on the standards of morals of contemporary society. ” The Act was amended in 2013 to broaden its scope. Section 354E15 (now Section 74 in BNS16) was included which criminalizes dissemination of sexually explicit content without the consent of the person involved. The amendments introduced stricter penalties on the basis of wider scope of operations. The penalties vary from fines, punishment to seizure and destruction of property used to produce or distribute the material portraying women in any indecent or obscene manner. The repercussions majorly act as a deterrent and thereby help in curbing such acts.
6. Conclusion
With the history of how women have been treated and represented in the public, The Indecent Representation of Women’s (Prohibition) Act, 1986 provides a ray of hope to ensure punishments against those who indulge and circulate material of obscenity that threaten the modesty of women. The relation of how women are presented in visual media and age old traditions of patriarchy is now a known fact. Categorizing women and forcing them to present
10 INDIAN CONST, art 21.
11 Maneka Gandhi V Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597.
12 Chandra Rajkumari and Anr V Commissioner of Police, 1998 (1) ALD Cri 298.
13 Chintan Upadhyay v. Hema Upadhyay, 2013 SCC OnLine Bom 2233.
14 Chandrakant Kalyandas Kakodar v. State of Maharashtra and Ors, 1969 SCC (2) 687.
15 The Indian Penal Code, 1860, §. 354E, Act No. 45 of 1860.
16 The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, §.74, Act No. 45 of 2023.
themselves in accordance with what seems pleasing to the male gaze only furthers this aspect. Men have historically exerted their control over women and thereby never allowed them to be a master of their own image. There are generations of damage caused. It thereby requires hard work on several fronts to rebuild and revamp the societal status of women and finally give women a control over how they wish to be seen and known to the general public.