A former Indian sanitation worker (right) walks the catwalk behind a professional model. (BBC photo)
Today Sharanya at the Indian feminist blog Ultra Violet has a post about a recent UN conference in which Indian sanitation workers walked the runway alongside professional models at a charity fashion show. (Sanitation workers, also called scavengers, are usually Dalit women whose job it is to remove the human and animal excrement from the homes of higher-class Indians.)
The women got the opportunity to hit the catwalk during a fashion show called Mission Sanitation where they appeared alongside top models from India and other countries. Some of the designer clothes worn by the models were embroidered by the women.
The article is full of quotes from women who are former sanitation workers, about how respected and honored they feel to be asked to model on the catwalk. At Ultra Violet, Sharanya writes,
i don't think that modelling is necessarily un- or anti-feminist. But I also don't think that the simple juxtapositioning of a highly enviable profession and a highly undesirable one makes any real statement. [...]Maybe my feminism is a bit old-school, but attending a UN conference and then "doing some modelling" sort of sounds like a big drop to me. Coming out of one of the most degrading professions in the world... and then hitting the catwalk, en masse? Is that really activism or achievement? Or just another spin on that old oppression-chic cliche?
I have to say that the BBC article doesn't really provide enough information for me to judge just how much of a charade this event was. I suppose if the fashion show was just one component -- if people at the conference took the time to listen to the stories of the former sanitation workers, and to develop some achievable goals and policy changes to help women in similar situations, then maybe it's not so appalling. But, like Sharanya, I have to ask: why modeling? If the UN conference wanted to honor these women and engage with them about their experiences, I fail to see how asking them to walk the runway furthers that aim.
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I think that putting Dalit women on a stage and telling the world that they are (also) beautiful actually is empowering, because the dehumanization of the Dalit in India is done often using racial (as opposed to class) terms. Just saying that a Dalit women CAN be beautiful, and DOES belong on a stage with other beautiful Indians is a step forward- it is a way of saying that these women are human and worth honoring even in arenas (like in feminine desirability and beauty) where convention is most hard to shake.
(I'm a long time lurker but first time poster, so please go easy :) )
There's so many different feelings I have about this.
So - yes, I LOVE putting out the idea that Dalit women are beautiful. All women need to be told that they are beautiful, whether they fit conventional standards of beauty or not.
On the other hand, I'm not sure this event actually does this. The remains of the caste system are still very strong, and can't be destroyed with 100 runway shows.
I guess it smacks of the Italian Vogue all-black issue - there's nothing wrong with the event, in and of itself. However, we need to be honest with ourselves that an event like this doesn't really make any change.
I also don't know enough about the event (or Indian culture for that matter) to be really sure about my opinion.
I agree that if this was one component of the event then that's great, but how much is it really helping to just put these women on the catwalk? The idea that showing that women are valuable by showing that they're attractive is so tired and frustrating.
I agree with the previous comments, that showing that ANY woman can be beautiful and breaking down classist barriers can be a good example, but my lingering question is, once the turn on the catwalk is over, will these women also get access and opportunity to tangible benefits like better working conditions, better pay, better valuation of their work both as employees and family members? That's the BIG one for me.
Putting on a show is one step...following through and attempting to make the necessary systemic and cultural changes that will give women better standing is a long, hard process. Will those who put on this event also put in the time/resources/commitment to continue?
And in closing, I have always thought that Indian women are absolutely beautiful!
I just wanted to say that it may be helpful to take a look at the website of the group that organized the show: http://www.missionsanitation.com/
It looks to me like they're partnered with the social services group Salabh: http://www.sulabhinternational.org/
So we can only hope that they're doing more than the fashion show.