By: Sumaiyya Kainat
A time when political leaders across the world are promising to work for gender parity, an act of vandalism in Gwalior India makes it grimly clear that women’s dignity is still revered as dispensable. When public murals depicting women doing yoga are sexually desecrated, it raises a chilling question: If depictions don’t go unharmed, what protection is there for real women on the streets of everyday life or far worse, in conflict zones like Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir? This is how casual acts of violation wield the enforcer’s lash of systemic oppression and cut through the fabric of progress.
The truth is as grim as it is chilling, as a beautification project for the city, these black silhouettes with women doing yoga appeared on the buildings representing health and strength for women everywhere. However, these harmless Works of Art were defaced with sexual body parts scratched out representing the female figure being sexually belittled in this act of vandalism that was specifically aimed at women everywhere. A student took it to social media with her own reaction to the vandalism stating her utter revulsion and rage at the attitudes expressed through this act of vandalism. The incident received increased attention on social media with a commenter wryly remarking “Even the paintings should be contained within and covered up”! Bitter truth in the form of sarcasm highlights an indelible truth in every situation in life: the degradation of images of women normalizes their objectification in the real world. Women in every corner of the world whether in Delhi, France, London, Seoul or Karachi would feel the same sense of revulsion as the message goes beyond religious, cultural and geographical differences. It is not about Muslim, Hindu or Christian women. It is simply about woman in general period. The message being sent is both universal and horrifying there is no place that is protected from this type of violence, including in symbolic representation.
The incident perfectly represents the paradox of a country like India, that cannot provide adequate protection for even a basic work of art. Instead of taking responsibility for investigating those responsible for the defacement and creating awareness about these types of incidents officials opted for the low cost, low effort solution of painting over the entire wall, thereby eliminating both the evidence of the acts of vandalism as well as the original artwork.
This type of targeted defacing of public art is considered a sexual harassment of public art and demonstrates a larger trend of violence against women and creates a social environment that enables individuals to vandalize with little fear of being punished. There are many terrifying statistics about the different types of violence against women in our society today: However, there is also hope and that hope comes from a grassroots movement. The youth of today have refused to accept or excuse the violence inflicted on women and are demanding change like in Gwalior a College Student took action by using paint and brushes to return dignity to the yoga murals that were destroyed. Although courageous actions of many young individuals will help create a new awareness, courage alone cannot replace institutional reform.
India prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy yet its true measure lies not in lofty constitutions but in the everyday conduct toward its women citizens. India’s treatment of women extends beyond neglected vandalization to state sanctioned demotion. In Dec 2025, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, ripped off the hijab from the head of a Muslim women doctor at an event in Patna. This public act of humiliation caused outrage across India but the laughter of some officials at the event and lack of any serious outcome for Kumar, indicates a growing trend (silent) in India on the violation of the right to make individual decisions regarding one’s body in public by those holding high office. This trend does not just affect Muslim women, but represents a problem affecting all women throughout the entire world, including women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and promotes the idea that humiliation in public is normal, and therefore goes against the principle of equality and respect for all citizens of the nation.
The whitewashed walls may fade from people’s memory, and headlines yet the questions posed by these walls burn brighter than ever. If authorities fail to defend women from sexual objectification through artistic representations within their own jurisdiction? What level of credibility do those same authorities possess in terms of providing protection for women’s rights in other areas of the world, including territories under oppression? Especially Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where India has deployed hundreds and thousands of occupational forces. The simple answer is “zero credibility” unless and until the persistent mindset is eliminated. Until that point, women far and wide will continue to live in a world where their dignity is constantly hovered. The paint may be gone, but the truth it exposed will keep pushing us toward real justice and equivalency.
The writer is a graduate of BS International Relations from International Islamic University Islamabad & is currently a research intern at the Kashmir institute of International Relations (KIIR)