Going with the flow: Women say the men were offended because they had “strayed” too far in the nightgown. (Photo: Sreenivas Janyala)The nightie has gone underground in Thokalapalle, as a panchayat diktat in this village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh bars women from wearing the loose, shapeless outfit in the day. If there is resentment among the women, they appear to be hiding it when their husbands and fathers are in the house, some even claiming that the village’s women had sought the ban from a sense of modesty. When the men of the house are away, they mutter about the restrictions. “The men can walk around in lungis and vests or ride motorcycles with their lungis pulled up to their crotch but women cannot walk around in nightgowns. It hurts their sensibilities. It is all done in the name of protecting culture and honour,” bristles one woman, who did not wish to be named. “Night gowns are not only comfortable to sleep in but they are also better than saris for work. They cover a woman more,’’ she says.
For the working women of the village — an overwhelming majority, since about 80 per cent work on the fields or fish farms, according to a panchayat member — the nightgown is a garment of convenience.
G Vijaya, a young woman studying for her B.Ed, says that the village women ditched the sari and embraced the nightie two years ago, inspired by the lead characters of a Telugu TV serial. “It is very comfortable to wear especially as the weather is sultry here. But the men got offended as we went to markets, meetings and panchayat offices wearing nighties,’’ she says.
Thokalapalle is a village of brightly painted, neat tenements, with white kolams drawn outside every house, and loudspeakers perched on poles at street corners. Nestled on the eastern bank of Kolleru Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the country, Thokalapalle has a population of 3,620. Women outnumber men by 80.
While the women say they are not amused at the attention it is bringing to the quiet village, the men don’t seem to mind. “You have come for the nightie?’’ mirthful youngsters idling on motorcycles ask.
“We pride ourselves on taking decisions collectively,’’ says Gansala Mahalakshmi, sarpanch of the village. What unifies the village is caste — the entire village belongs to the Vaddi caste of fishermen. Apart from an elected panchayat, a “committee’’ of nine elders takes major decisions on behalf of the community.
The allegation is that the women strayed too far — and that, too, without a dupatta to cover themselves. Gansala Radha, team head of DWCRA (Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas) groups in the village, says some members first began objecting to women walking around in the market and the streets, far away from their homes, wearing night gowns. “About nine months ago, some pointed out what was on ‘display’ when women in nightgowns washed clothes outside their homes or in the canal or when they bent down at the market. Soon, others also started complaining. They said that they noticed men ogling. Earlier, women used to cover themselves with a dupatta if they went out of house in a nightgown but they did away even with that,’’ she says.
One of the village committee members, G Adinarayana, says that as the women defied the earlier request to not wear nighties while stepping out, they decided to issue a decree. “We issued instructions that women should wear nightgowns at home only. They can be in that dress from 6 pm to 8 am and not venture too far from their home wearing nighties. We have exempted old women, pregnant ladies, and those who have undergone surgeries from the ban,’’ Adinarayana says.
T Tataiah, a fish farmer, says outsiders such as truck drivers delivering vegetables, fertiliser or fish feed gave lustful looks when women bent down to draw rangolis in front of their homes. “I cannot ask my wife or daughter to stop wearing nighties. They will rebel. They wear it because they find it more comfortable than saris. But it was embarrassing for husbands to watch passersby catching an eyeful of their women working outside the house. We know what they are looking at,’’ he says.
When women wash clothes in the canal, the loose nightgowns balloon up. “When they bend down to wash, everything is on display. Some youngsters on motorcycles stop by, pretending to talk on mobile phones and ogle at these women. Who knows if they have taken photos or made videos? These women had to be stopped,’’ says Nepula Laxman, a mini-truck driver.
As of now, the old order is back, and the nightie has beaten a hasty retreat inside the house. K Jhansi Lakshmi, an auxiliary nurse midwife, says the nightie is comfortable for doing household chores like washing clothes or utensils. “But I have switched back to the sari going by the wishes of the village elders,’’ she says.
By evening, all the women have retired to their homes. There is a hush in the village. A particularly vigilant male member of the village asks this reporter sarcastically. “What are you waiting for? To see a woman in a nightie?”
