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Sunday Thoughts By Kopai Riti

In 2017, Australian Senator Larissa Waters faced backlash from all over the world for publicly breastfeeding in the nation’s parliament. She was accused of making the men present
uncomfortable. Apparently, their ‘right to comfort’ was more important than a baby’s hunger. More recently, Kenyan parliamentarian Zulekha Hassan was escorted out by armed sergeants for attempting to tend to her five months old baby. The speaker blamed her for “gross misconduct”.
At this point, one has to wonder that if this is what powerful representatives of the state are facing, then what about common women? A woman was kicked off a Spirit Airlines Flight in 2017, for feeding her 2 year old crying baby in order to calm him down. There are hundreds of reports by women who were asked to leave public places or “cover up” for publicly breastfeeding. And these are just the developed first world countries. In countries like India or Bangladesh or Pakistan,where women are frowned upon for choosing their own path or even daring to speak up, just introducing the idea would probably lead someone to get jailed or lynched. A survey states that only 6% of Indian women would be comfortable with public feeding.
So why this stigma and fear? How did a mere feeding process become a taboo? The patriarchal society is used to sexualizing breasts and views them solely as objects of male pleasure that should only be exposed at their will – dare any woman try to take agency of their own body part to fulfill their baby’s needs, will be ostracized. But the primary purpose of mammary glands is feeding an infant: they are not sexual body parts, let alone a man’s property. So when a woman is merely feeding her baby, all men see are ‘their’ objects of pleasure being used without their permission. If women wish to derive sexual pleasure through their breasts, or any other body part for that matter, it does not mean they are “asking for” them to be sexualised by men.
This stigma has and is constantly creating problems for women all over the world. From grocery stores to coffee shops, women are experiencing criticism or the male gaze for trying to prevent their babies from going hungry. But working mothers are at the worst end of this scenario. Today, we are at an age where more and more women are getting encouraged to be economically independent. A lot of working mothers face a problem with newborn babies and are forced to leave their jobs due to the pressure put on a mother to raise her child.
Acceptance towards public breastfeeding, especially at workplaces, therefore, can be a huge step towards women empowerment. Women all over the world have been protesting against this patriarchal stigma and unfair laws and practices that support it. Many corporate houses refuse to follow UNICEF’s ‘Guidelines for Breastfeeding Support for Women’ which clearly dictate paid maternity AND paternity leave, guarantee of adequate wages and child support , assurance towards breastfeeding for as long as a woman chooses to breastfeed, and many other benefits. Perhaps these conversations will pave the path for a better future.
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