International Journal of Social Research and Development

authors
Dr. Sunita Pareek

abstract
Often, one hears a saying: a child cannot know the alphabet unless she is able to picture the image of an apple when she says the letter A. Cut to the realm of politics, the image of a woman politician in Indian politics is one draped in a sooti (cotton) saree. It would not be an overstatement to say that that there is a deep-seated relationship between women, power and dress, in not just India but also in the world across. This relationship largely guides the ways in which women are represented in politics; and this representation further guides if women are befitting for a political office. Moreover, this relationship does not end here. Even after acquiring power, the behavior of a woman politician is informed, amongst other factors, also by her dress. It is said that cinema is largely a mirror of the society we live in. The representation of women politicians seeking power in Indian cinema is also a testimony to these assertions. From Aandhi (1975) to Thalaivi (2021), it has not only been a portrayal of the rising women in politics and their quest to seek power, but also underlying this rise is a constant, though subtle, theme of the intersection of their dress and their quest for power. The saree, thus, is seen as an embodiment of power vis a vis women in politics. It is important to note that power here implies not only the power of political office but also that of resistance and protest. This paper addresses these themes in greater detail and seeks to question the perdurable relationship between women, power and dress in the Indian context. It makes an attempt to problematize the femininity that prevails in the dress of women in politics in India.