Attacks on jeans wearing women are the flavour of the season. Everyone seems to be talking about it in Bangalore. It is not that people are finally awakening to women’s issues. It is not the focus on women’s issues, but only on the issue of women who wear western clothes. These clothes also represent their economic and social standing. That is perhaps why when they are slapped or when their cars are damaged, the news hit headlines.

These things have been happening regularly, but to women in sarees or salwar kameez, which means to women belonging to the lower strata of society. When these women are raped or even murdered the news is nothing more than a small item, unlike in the previous case. No online forum or emails circulated ask help for them.

If you ask why these women don’t wear jeans, then it is simply because they are not allowed to. The kind of society they live in, doesn’t allow them to be liberal. They live their lives with their desires chained. None of us care a damn about them. It is only when the rich get affected, the entire system demands action.

Last two months the city was hit with murders, but not all murders were given equal coverage by the media. The killings were measured by their economic standing and the locality. For instance last time there was a murder where a woman sleeping on the footpath was killed. Her head was smashed with a boulder. Only if she was a resident of one of the post localities, then she death too would have found a mention in news reports.

As for Sri Ram Sene chief, Pramod Mutalik, I wish to thank him. He chose the target perfectly- women in pubs. After this every attack on affluent women is being linked to him, because of which even drunken brawls and road rages when women are victimized are getting attention.