Semi-nude photo and moral policing in Manipur: what an irony!

Jenni *

On 8th July, 2012, on a hot and humid Sunday morning in Manipur, a certain newspaper in Manipur, gave a headline along with a shocking image on the front page that was bizarre enough to give panic attacks to all the senior citizens and young people alike. It was really disheartening to see a woman being so mercilessly exposed on a daily newspaper that is being read by thousands of people. I say, it's the limit of the self righteous, moral watchdogs of Manipur.

The newspaper item was related to the continuous drive against restaurants with dark cabins, catching the couples off guard, publishing their names in local media sometimes, informing their family and giving a 'good piece of moral advice' for indulging in natural behaviour that are bound to happen between a couple.

Well, kudos to them, for some of the civil societies were successful enough in busting those couples indulging in extra-marital affairs or apprehending child-seducing pedophiles. Atleast they are helping an ignorant partner or parents who are not aware that their partner or wards are breaching their trust by romping in a murky cabin of some 'Kombirei' restaurant.

With the word of applause from a large fraction of the citizens initially, the confidence of such self righteous moral police boosted to such an extent that they began to cross their limits, blinded by their vision to catch all kissing and petting couples from restaurants. The news item on Sunday was a product of such ignorantly inhuman moral policing in Manipur.

A certain civil society called Young Women's Help Organization caught a couple red handed from a restaurant, humiliated and paraded the woman in the streets, took her semi-nude photographs and published it on the front page of a local newspaper; although the couple pleaded that they have already eloped and are getting married. The description of the scenario was so vivid and vulgar in nature that the age old Crime and Detective Magazine seemed like an infantile amateur magazine.

As a woman, a myriad of questions cropped up on my mind. If the young couple were genuinely in love and are already engaged and getting married, did the moral police ever pondered on the effects of their crude patrolling on the couple and their family. Even a sex worker wants to live a life of dignity and hide their identity from the glaring media. But this woman was just another ordinary woman who committed an 'offence' that cannot be counted as an offence even. However, she was subjected to such grave humiliation along with her partner in full public view, besides getting her semi-nude image published in one of the leading newspaper.

Here, am more concerned about the woman because admit it or not, we are still living in a patriarchal society. The guy may live a normal life after getting a call on the carpet from his disapproving family or answering some repugnant questions of curious onlookers but the girl may be stigmatized forever by her leikai, which may pass on even to her children.

Even if she gets married to the same guy, one can never predict how her in-laws would treat her owing to such an incident. Her innocent parents and family members may have to bear the sneer and taunting whisper of their hypocritical neighbours and relatives forever, because we know that every leikai in Manipur doesn't have a shortage of people who take pleasure in gossiping and babbling on somebody else's misfortune.

There are laws and rules to rehabilitate a rape victim and protect her from psychological trauma in many countries. Do these moral police embody such protective measures in their moral clause to protect and help their victims after their jubilantly victorious phase of parading her womanhood and stripping her off her dignity in full public view?

Even if the self proclaimed moral law makers aren't empathetic to the couple, they should have thought about the possible effect on the innocent family members of the victims. I guess many of the women from this self righteous Young Women's Help Organization must be parents with parental emotions or sisters who have experienced sisterly love and affection. But, what can we expect from such self righteous people who would not give a second thought on burning down the house of a poor family and leaving the whole family homeless for a crime committed by one of the black sheep in the family.

Such civil society are talking about women empowerment on one hand and on the other hand they are so blinded by their false self righteousness that they do not give a second thought on 'raping' a woman emotionally, mentally and physically in full public view for the so called 'inappropriate' libido in the wrong place and wrong time. Such is the irony.

What is more disheartening is to see one of our leading newspapers publishing the semi nude photo on the front page. According to the ethics of journalism world wide, newspapers often avoid publishing graphic images on their front pages, where readers could be surprised by them over breakfast. Even when the photos are newsworthy, they regularly wrestle with whether and how to handle disturbing newsworthy photos.

Let the self righteous group preach the couple, report it on the newspaper for their publicity but what is the need of unnecessarily publishing nude photo and giving a vivid description of the scenario. What effects can it have on young innocent kids who are getting a peek of the daily newspaper before going to school and the embarrassment of their parents and grandparents on seeing such news items in the morning?

If such immature news items continue to occupy the news columns everyday, will the parents ever encourage their children to read daily newspaper to increase their general awareness? What sort of general awareness are we generating to young minds that are curious to know too many things at a time?

In an era where social networking sites like Facebook are rampant and mobile phones with unlimited features are an easy gadget for a small kid, it's just a click away to spread such graphic pictures like a wild virus by some lurking perverts who are always waiting for such an opportunity. Such graphic pictures may become an archived picture forever, besides framing the woman as a 'target and mission' for those erratic pervert who are always curious to find out the identity of such victims.

Such drives are carried out to ensure the morality of our 'traditional' society but what sort of morality are they generating by creating a restaurant-drive tantrums everyday in specific localities, highlighting such cabin drives and couples to the centre point of every local magazine and media, feeding newspapers and visual media with such news items and photos everyday? I guess there are more important issues that are eating the soul of our state everyday. Such an issue isn't fit to occupy page three columns, let alone occupying the front headline.

With the ever increasing price rise, unemployment and issues of corruption that has become so pertinent to our state nowadays, why is it that we don't get to see such civil organization raising their voice or marching ahead against such evil vices with their fiercely brave and never tiring khongjang as we get to see in other parts of India and the world.

Such civil society should check the morality of our society but there should be certain dos and don'ts in their clause. Before undertaking such massive operations, they should first understand the pros and cons; should be responsible and rational enough to handle the cause and effect of their actions besides introspecting themselves and their own character before pointing their fingers on others. The Imphal Free Press reacted strongly against such moral policing on their 9th July, 2012 issue. As for me, such wild goose chase by the 'Keepers' of our society's morality is just getting funnier and dirtier everyday.