Indian Woman's Fashion Choices

Our clothing choices are often seen as a reflection of who we are. For many indian women, however, the use of traditional attire has led to the stereotype of someone who is “less progressive”. But why?

- K Praveena

In late March, Priscilla Ong, the founder of womenswear brand Ong Shunmugam, went viral for her comments on how minority race women were less “progressive” compared to their Chinese counterparts – ostensibly because they were “the first Asian women to adopt Western dressing”. Ong’s implication that Chinese women who wore clothes like “mini skirts” were more progressive was met with no pushback from the rest of the discussion panel, which was organised by the Asian Civilisations Museum; the panel featured no minority race women.

Adding insult to injury, Ong went on to insinuate that an Indian woman’s fashion choices and ability to go to work were dictated by the men in their lives. “How soon were they released from social shackles?” she asked.

In popular culture, there is a sort of belief that South Asian women are somehow “tied down” by culture and tradition – something that prevents them, particularly those who choose to embrace their culture, from “progressing”: As a young South Asian woman, I’ve received a fair share of looks when I choose to wear traditional Indian attire in public.