Shiv Sena's women workers remove mannequins from Mumbai streets

Activists of the Shiv Sena's women's wing removed illegal mannequins from some streets and shops in Mumbai. The action came after the Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation recently asked garment shop owners not to put up mannequins displaying lingerie without the civic body's permission. Around 30 women workers from the Sena's local unit on Saturday marched to some streets in Vile Parle area and removed such mannequins hanging from trees and placed outside shops.

They also asked the shop owners to remove such mannequin busts put up inside their outlets. The Sena workers claimed that such a display of lingerie makes women feel embarrassed.

"It could also attract unnecessary attention of children walking on streets," Rajani Mestri, a Sena worker from Vile Parle area, said.

The name of a shop is sufficient for any person to know what kind of garments it sells and there is no need to display lingerie openly, another party worker said. The Sena local unit workers in other parts of the city will also initiate similar action outside shops, she added.

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Shiv Sena on Thursday had demanded the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to remove unauthorized mannequins that display women’s lingerie in Mumbai. Shiv Sena corporator and BMC Law Committee chairperson Sheetal Mhatre had also ordered the administration to take strict action against unauthorized mannequins in the city in the next 15 days and cancel license of those found at fault.

In 2013 also, Shiv Sena corporator Ritu Tawde had demanded the removal of mannequins from lingerie shops in the city. The administration had informed them that there is no such provision in the MMC Act. 

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