A Christian pastor in Kerala has courted controversy after he claimed that girls who wear Jeans and T-Shirt arouse men. Taking it a step further he proclaimed he wanted the erring girls to drown into the sea. The pastor made this statement while giving a speech in Malayalam.
He went on about how such dresses arouse men and boys who then slip into sin. He claimed to quote the Bible and stated that those who provoke someone into sinning should be drowned into the depths of the sea with a rock tied to their body. He also proclaimed that churidars are the best suited attires for women which they stop wearing when Satan enters them.
This statement may lead to some form of an outrage but maybe going by the current trend the pastor can defend himself by saying that he didn’t make the statements the mike did.
This isn’t the first time the Kerala pastors have been in the news for the wrong reasons. In the past, it appears these pastors were “provoked into sinning” after they were reported for sexual assaults and molestations.
Also a women’s dress has long been made a focal point by religious and community leaders. Just recently a Muslim Cleric had slammed the dress of cricketer Mohammed Shami’s wife and in 2014 a Khap Panchayat in UP had banned girls from wearing Jeans and carrying mobile phones. Obviously the former received little or no attention and the latter ensured the gatekeepers of morality went ballistic (rightfully).
It remains to be seen whether this incident too would generate the necessary high decibel outrage from women’s rights activists, feminists, empowered citizens amongst others.
Also this incident sheds light on the dangerous trend of the church and it’s affiliates interfering in the lives of the citizens. In the recently concluded Goa elections it was noticed how the Church had started meddling into politics by issuing guidelines, opposing and outright endorsing some candidates even when a SC ruling prohibits such a behaviour.
