The Kerala High Court has emphasised that the depiction of a woman's naked body should not always be considered sexual or obscene. In a recent case, a woman was acquitted of criminal charges for creating a video in which her children were painting on her partially nude body. The court acknowledged the mother's explanation that she intended to challenge patriarchal views of female bodies and provide sex education to her children. According to the court, the video cannot be deemed obscene.
“The mere sight of the naked upper body of the woman should not be deemed to be sexual by default. So also, depiction of the naked body of a woman cannot, per se, be termed to be obscene, indecent or sexually explicit. The same can be determined to be so only in context,” the court added.
Justice Kausar Edappagath said, “The autonomy of the male body is seldom questioned, while the body agency and autonomy of women are under constant threat in a patriarchal structure; women are bullied, discriminated against, isolated and prosecuted for making choices about their bodies and lives.”
The judgment also addressed society’s double standards when it comes to male and female nudity, and said that there is nothing wrong if a mother allows her children to use her body as a canvas for painting, as it helps normalise the perception of nude bodies.
“Painting on the upper body of a mother by her own children as an art project cannot be characterised as a real or simulated sexual act, nor can it be said that the same was done for the purpose of sexual gratification or with sexual intent. To term this innocent artistic expression to be the ‘usage of a child in a real or simulated sexual act’ is harsh. There is nothing to show that the children were used for pornography. There is no hint of sexuality in the video. In the accompanying message, the petitioner has declared the purpose of the video was to make a political point against the default sexualisation of a woman’s body,” the court said.
The woman in question had been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, 2015.