Viraj's Blog

The government of India ruled in favor of Air India in a lawsuit filed by ex-air hostesses who were fired for being "overweight". Essentially, the court case established that Air India has the right to prevent its air hostesses from flying for being "overweight", in addition to its already existing policy that it would not consider hostesses who had acne or bad teeth.

You can read the full article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7439894.stm

Not being allowed to fly = no pay, since their wages are determined by the number of flights they work on.

First and foremost- what the hell does "overweight" mean? It's certainly less than obese, and I'm sure that there's no number guidance on this- Air India would make sure it doesn't exist so that they can continue to choose their hostesses by the most sexist policies possible. Do the pilots all have to look like Hrithik? Probably not. It's important to distinguish between "overweight" and obese. By their standards, I'm probably "overweight", but I most certainly am not obese. I take personal offense to this policy.

Next, the sari (which is worn by Air India hostesses) is a garment that is meant to accentuate curves. It makes both the chest and the butt look big- Indian women, through traditional clothing, and in my (super informal) surveys of other Indian/Indian-American women, we are told that curves are desirable. If you want a pop culture reference, I can cite the scene in Bend It Like Beckham, where Jasminder is getting her sari fitted for her sister's wedding, and the tailor says that they'll make "these mosquito bites look like juicy, juicy mangoes"- in reference to her breasts, of course. Even though they sport thin waistlines, even actresses and Indian models are curvy- to an extent.

My point? Even the people in the entertainment industry used to represent India are not rail-thin like the woman in the picture/like the women Air India is choosing to hire. Curves are valued in Indian culture- not like fat rolls or anything, but women are supposed to look healthy...looking like you're starving all the time isn't considered a good socioeconomic marker. Kind of like how in old Britain, the fatter you were the more marriageble you were (as a woman) because it meant you had money.

I find this whole "westernization" of beauty in India to be thoroughly disturbing. The woman in the picture looks abnormally thin- much like the models that are scrutinized in the United States, too. The times that I have flown Air India, I remember that the air hostesses were all extremely thin and had perfect skin- it was a little bit unnerving. When I go to India, I've never seen anyone look like that unless they were starving on the street.

Air India's main market is to NRIs who are going to India to "rediscover their roots" or whatever. If you've flown, you know that they try to recreate that aesthetic nostalgia of India by wearing saris, serving "traditional" food, showing Bollywood films, and even greeting everyone with a "namaste". In that vein, they continue to use young, "attractive" women to enhance the idea that women are used to represent true Indian culture.

The women's rights movement in India just got knocked back about a century, folks.

To quote Rupa Dev's reaction on the court ruling: "that's lame"