This ban talk is not new

The charge of the moral brigade has been often led by women corporators who comprise 50 per cent of the BMC House due to reservation. Of the 227 corporators elected last year,113 are women.

In March,a BMC garden in Mazgaon banned couples and “unescorted girls” to “prevent rapes”. The 87-year-old Joseph Baptista Garden,popularly known as Hanging Garden of Mazgaon,directed its guards to not allow girls if they are not accompanied by a male family member. Local corporator Yamini Jadhav endorsed the move,saying it was “good for women”.

Before that,former corporator and NCP MLC Vidya Chavan sought removal of posters of Jism 2,a film starring porn actress Sunny Leone.

Chavan argued the Jism 2 poster depicted a naked woman in an almost transparent saree. She said this objectified a woman’s body and showed her in bad light.

“Such posters provoke people to harass women,pass dirty comments at them. It is not the actresses but common women and young girls who have to bear the brunt of such posters,” Chavan said.

Mayor Sunil Prabhu conceded and ordered removal of all posters of the film from BEST buses.

On Monday,MNS corporator Sheetal Mhatre from R-North ward demanded a ban on adult plays in BMC-owned community halls.

The play Ek Chavat Sandhyakal (A Naughty Evening) was off limits for women till it completed 25 shows.

Mhatre told fellow corporators such plays were tarnishing image of the city. “Plays should be family-friendly,” she said.

Sam Taraporevala,head of sociology at St Xavier’s College,said,“One cannot ensure gender justice by bans. The mindset corporators are trying to curb by banning mannequins is deep-rooted and patriarchal. Seeking such bans is the easiest way to show corporators are doing something for the city.”

He said one could not link mannequins displaying lingerie with increase in sex crimes. “It might be that today more such incidents are coming to the fore while earlier they were brushed under the carpet.”

sharvari.patwa@expressindia.com