Bangle protester, caught on wrong foot, uses shackle shield
Times of India | 29 August 2024
12 Kolkata: Hours after a video of a bearded, saffron-clad Nabanna march participant apparently gesturing at police and suggesting they wear bangles went viral on social media, he was trolled and denounced for being misogynistic. In response, 56-year-old Prabir Basu aka Balaram told TOI that he meant the police should wear bangles or handcuffs of slavery to make it easier for them to oppress common people.
Indudipa Sinha, an alumna of RG Kar who is also a theatre worker, told TOI that this was a gender-biased insult. “Unfortunately, many who say it are not even cognizant that it is a gender slur. At least a person protesting for gender rights should be more prudent about his choice of words,” she said. Actor Aritra Dutta Banik, who took to social media on Tuesday to protest, said the rot stems from mindless gender-stereotyping. “Since childhood, various words have become part of our idiom that are very sexist in nature,” he said.
Pranaadhika, CEO and founder of One Million Against Abuse Foundation, said: “The fact that a man finds it appropriate to relegate women to the role of wearing bangles/heteronormative symbols of female identity, lets us know how deep-rooted the patriarchal mindset is in 2024.”
Speaking to TOI on Wednesday, Basu, a Shyambazar resident and a “proud” RSS functionary, said: “I have been participating in protests since the incident happened at a govt hospital very close to my house. I wanted to tell the cops to wear bangles or handcuffs of slavery so that it would be easier to oppress common people. It came to my mind after listening to a mother of two girl students who was saying we are not here wearing bangles, as she, along with the two girls, was badly affected by tear gas,” Basu added.
“The questions on whether I am a student or if I disrespected women, or about my political affiliation have not affected me much. I took part as a father of a daughter, and will continue with my protest. However, I have great respect for the women who symbolise Durga,” he said. Basu used to work as a professional photographer and now runs a photography school.
According to sociologist Ruby Sain, those who use this bangle proverb to denote inefficiency are byproducts of a society that allows deep-rooted gender stereotyping in the 21st century.
BJP’s Sanghamitra Chaudhuri, who also took to social media to confess that she, as a woman, has previously asked cops to wear bangles and sit at home. “This is often used in the context of inefficient men. ," Chaudhuri told TOI. When she was told about these protests, she said, “Now that I hear the arguments against its usage and how it can be interpreted as anti-women, I will refrain from using it in future.”