While the idea of a “watermelon protest” might sound more like a demonstration of produce suppliers than a feminist movement, don’t be fooled: women in India are using the fruit as a symbol for their protests against a local teacher’s sexist words.
An assistant college professor in the Kozhikode district of Kerala recently criticized the wardrobe choices of his female students, claiming that they were dressing in an “anti-Muslim” fashion. His unflattering and bizarre choice of words when speaking about women’s chests sparked a backlash among local women.
“The teacher, while addressing a gathering of Muslim families, had said that girls were not wearing their hijab properly and were deliberately exposing their chest just like ‘slices of watermelons on display,'” the Times of India reports.
Large swaths of women were offended by the professor’s words, so much so that women began holding “watermelon protests,” in which they marched while holding slices of watermelon — a not-so-subtle jab at the sexist professor’s words.
After having gone viral, the speech has paved way to various forms of protests including students marching on the road carrying and distributing watermelons. #Kerala #protest https://t.co/LGCSNuNQu9
— Indulge Magazine (@TheIndulgeMag) March 20, 2018
Women took to posing with pieces of watermelon on social media in support of the cause, and several women actually posed topless.
“I am upset with hypersexualization of breasts by people,” one woman said, according to Indulge. “Whether it be professors in college or social media users seeing a model breastfeed and pose for a magazine. So my husband and I posted pictures of me nude.”
“Teachers should teach by looking at our faces and not our body,” said Suja P, chairperson of the Calicut University students union, at the watermelon protest. #IncredibleIndia https://t.co/2hUHRZdYcz
— Priya Ramani (@priyaramani) March 20, 2018
“Teachers should teach by looking at our faces and not our body,” Suja P., chairperson of the Calicut University students union, said at the protest.
It’s unclear whether the professor will receive any sort of discipline for his choice of words, but one thing is for certain: these women are certainly bringing an entirely new meaning to an innocuous piece of fruit.