Magazine ‘Grihalakshmi’ With Breastfeeding Mom On Cover Comes Under Complaint

Days after the magazine Grihalakshmi featured a breastfeeding model and mom on its cover, in typical Indian fashion, a complaint has already been filed before the Kerala State Commission for Child Rights.

For child rights?

Interesting.

When asked what he thought of the complaint, Joint Managing Director of Mathrubhumi group (Grihalakshmi is a sister publication of this media group) Mr. M V Shreyams Kumar said that this was just done by someone looking for cheap publicity. He also added that the company had not yet received any legal intimation of a complaint being filed against them.

Interestingly, the Chairman of the Kerala State Commission for Child Rights said that the complaint was filed for fake feeding and denial and violation of child rights.

Apparently, the complaint has been filed by Kerala advocate Vinod Mathew Wilson who has alleged that the picture is, wait for it, lascivious in nature, and that it degrades the dignity of a woman.

Lascivious?

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the term ‘lascivious’ means an act that is reflecting or producing sexual desire or behaviour, especially that is considered indecent or obscene.

And the Cambridge dictionary defines the term ‘lascivious’ as expressing a strong desire for sexual activity.

Wow.

So does this mean that Vinod Mathew Wilson actually stared at a breastfeeding mom’s breasts and felt an uncontrolled urge and an inherent need to go on and perform a sexual act?

And if that is what breastfeeding is all about, is that what his mother was doing when she was breastfeeding him as a baby – producing sexual desires in others?

In addition to the term lascivious, it would be good if the man had also read about phrases such as ‘think before you speak’ and understood the concept of growing mature instead of just growing up in years.

As for the model who seems to have divided the opinion and has seemed to irk many with her natural act of breastfeeding, this is a natural thing that any mother will do for her child, and see does not see any cheap or vulgar display on the cover.

She also went on to say that the main message that was being shared through the cover was that women should not feel ashamed or conscious when they had to breastfeed their babies in a public space. Also, society as a whole should try and make it comfortable and convenient for nursing mothers so that they are able to feed their babies as and when the baby is hungry.

Sadly, as long as we have people like the one who filed the complaint, our societies will never be safe, especially for breastfeeding moms and babies. Pity.

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