It's 2019 & A Woman Was Denied A Driving Test Because She Was Wearing Jeans & Sleeveless Top

While there is no prescribed dress code for taking a driving test, this woman working with a software firm was asked to go home and come back properly dressed, by an official in RTO Office, KK Nagar, Chennai, according to a report.

"Whether it is men or women, the general advice is to come in a proper dress. It is not moral policing," the official told IANS. "Different kinds of people will come to RTO daily. In order to avoid any untoward incident the applicants are advised to come in proper dress. Men who are in lungi, shorts are asked to come in proper attire," the official told IANS preferring anonymity.

According to a report, the woman came in a sleeveless top and jeans. In another incident, a woman was told to come back wearing proper clothes because she was wearing a capri. These incidents are not new, there have been a lot of complaints about them.

Representational Image - Unsplash

Men who are wearing shorts or lungi, are told to go back home and come properly dressed and same is the case with women. An RTO Official also said that, the driver's license office is a government office and there is no harm in telling people to go and come back dressed properly.

He also added that they should dress properly, just like they would dress properly for office.

While his argument that people should come properly dressed to a government office might have some substance, who is defining the word 'properly'? Is there a definition somewhere that people need to be aware of? Also, how and why are jeans and a sleeveless top, improper?

If there are genuine concerns with regard to proper dressing, then it might be a good idea to make that public information. Also, it should not be left to the discretion of one person; there needs to be a properly thought-out code for everyone - one that does not come across as sexist and biased.