Days after Jauhar Munnavir, a professor at Farook Training College in Kerala's Kozhikode district, attracted much ire from the public for his offensive remark comparing women's breasts to 'sliced melons,' the professor is finally being held accountable for his remarks.
The Koduvally police on Thursday evening registered a case against the social science professor for insulting women in a public speech made a few months ago. Jauhar now faces charges under IPC sections 354A (punishment for sexual harassment) and section 509 (words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman.)
The case was filed based on a complaint filed by Amritha, a student of Farook college. However, the police are yet to summon the professor for questioning.
The controversy broke out earlier this week, when a video of Jauhar's speech was circulated on social media. In his address in Malayalam, Jauhar comments on how women of this age dress up. To drive his argument forward, Jauhar unabashedly shames the Muslim women students of his college, accusing them of discarding the traditional ways of dressing.
"I am teacher of a college where 80% of the students are girls and the majority of them are Muslims. What is the situation there? They wear purdah, but they wear leggings too. And they hold their purdah a little higher in order to expose the leggings they are wearing. This is the new style," Jauhar said.
He continued: "Don't even talk about muftah. They don't wear muftah anymore, do they? Just wrap a shawl over the head, and it’s done. They tie it in such a way that their chest is not covered. A woman's bosom is one of the body parts that attracts a man. And so it should be covered. But our girls expose some part of their chest. You know, like how we slice a small part of a melon to see if it’s ripe? Just like that. They want to say that rest of their body is also like the exposed part."
Despite the professor's remark being criticised heavily on social media, the college Principal had told TNM that he cannot take action against Jauhar, in the absence of complaints from students. The issue snowballed into a controversy, after various student unions led protest marches armed with watermelons, to take on the professor.