KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday observed that nudity should not be tied to sex and the mere sight of the naked upper body of a woman should not be deemed sexual or obscene by default.
The court made the observation while discharging activist Rehana Fathima in a case registered for posting a video on social media in which her two minor children were seen painting on her semi-nude body. Opposing Rehana’s discharge plea, the prosecution stated that the naked upper body of the petitioner is exposed in the video, and hence it is obscene.
“There is no reason to believe that an ordinary man viewing the video would become depraved, debased and encouraged to lasciviousness. In the strict sense, the petitioner did not show her bare chest, as the body paint covered her breast. It can never arouse any sexually explicit feeling in the mind of a prudent man,” said Justice Kauser Edappagath.
The court observed that the depiction of the naked body of a woman cannot per se be termed obscene, indecent, or sexually explicit. ‘My Body, My Choice’-- an iconic tagline coined by the prochoice movement in the early ’70s to represent bodily autonomy and gender equality -- continues to be an expression of the rights women deserve and is still consistently used by women rights activists across the globe as a powerful retaliation to sexist societal ideas and archaic patriarchy. The body is the most fundamental space over which an individual shall have autonomy, the court stated.
No hint of sexuality in video: HC
“Every individual is entitled to the autonomy of his/her body — this is not selective on gender,” said the court. The prosecution argued that the content of the video is obscene and pornographic material involving a child. The court watched the video in the open court. The two-minute video shows the petitioner’s son carefully, with utmost professional concentration, painting the image of a phoenix on her upper body. A little girl is also seen in the video painting on paper, the court. According to the petitioner, no child who has grown up seeing his mother’s nakedness and body can abuse another female body.
Every parent tries their best to teach their children all about life. There is nothing wrong with a mother allowing her body to be used as a canvas by her children to paint to sensitise them on the concept of viewing naked bodies as normal and thinking about them as more than just sexual objects only, the court stated.
Painting on the upper body of a mother by her children as an art project cannot be characterised as a real or simulated sexual act, nor can it be said that the same was done for sexual gratification or with sexual intent. To term this innocent artistic expression to be ‘usage of a child in the real or simulated sexual act’ is harsh. There is no hint of sexuality in the video and nothing that could be called pornographic, it stated.
The statement of the children shows that they are in the loving care of the petitioner. No doubt, the prosecution of the petitioner will have a torturous and adverse effect on the children. Hence, in the best interest of the victims also, the prosecution cannot be allowed to continue, said the court.