So what's wrong with Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty's Parliament wardrobe, exactly?

For their first day at their new job, when that job happens to be that of Member of Parliament, Bengali actresses and first-time MPs Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty might have expected many challenges. They were certainly excited to take them on when they posted pictures from their new workplace on social media, except that they hit a wall of misogyny first.
Their choice of workwear - jeans and a white button-down shirt for Mimi, a wine-coloured peplum suit for Nusrat - was the first and last word on their political competence for many.'You're not on vacation', 'they have mistaken Parliament for Kolkata's Nicco Park or City Centre', 'this is not a photo studio, this is a place where you should fight for people's rights and legislate', 'keep some respect towards your Bengali society' were just some of the nicer things people wrote online.
At 29 and 30 respectively, Nusrat and Mimi are among the five youngest members who will be sworn in to the Lok Sabha, they gave their party, the Trinamool Congress, much bigger victory margins than the last elections, and are part of the biggest female contingent marching into Parliament so far (at 78 women among 542 MPs, it's still not much to write home about, but life's about small victories). But screw all that. Itna fashion kaise kar sakte hain? How can they celebrate their historic victories with the
Gautam Gambhir wore jeans and a T-shirt for his first day at the Parliament, and posed with his ID (exactly like Mimi). Sunny Deol also chose jeans and a white shirt when he attended the NDA meeting at the Parliament. In 2014, for his first day at the Parliament, Babul Supriyo also opted for a pair of jeans. However, we are yet to see their political competence being questioned
Clothes maketh women netas - only women netas. Gautam Gambhir wore jeans to his first day in Parliament. From Paresh Rawal and Anurag Thakur to Babul Supriyo, several MPs have deemed denims to be appropriate for the workplace. If you're having to Google their pictures now, you're proving our point - no one remembers it 'coz no one gave a stitch. And what's wrong with trousers? Are the haters seriously saying every single male MP only shows up for work in kurta-pajamas? But being swathed in yards of khadi is apparently some people's idea of a punch-in card for women parliamentarians. Double standards make the rules even for our lawmakers.
Thankfully, better sense still lurks in many corners of social media, as several users came to Nusrat and Mimi's defence, including politicians from rival parties. Celebrating the West Bengal MPs for injecting fresh blood and a fresh style into the Lok Sabha, they silenced those who still judge women for what they wear to work, not for their actual work.
Mimi Chakraborty tweeted, "1st day "
I don’t think we have failed to maintain the decorum of Parliament: Mimi Chakraborty
Everyone around us talks so much about women empowerment and equality, but I don’t understand what happens to them when such incidents take place. I can’t get the ABCD of trolling. What Nusrat and I wore was not indecent in any way. When men wear jeans and T-shirt, nobody seems to have any problem, then why is it any different for us? I have never paid heed to trolls and will continue to not give them any undue attention. I would rather like to believe in my lovers than those who troll me. As long as my actions don’t harm anyone, I have no reason to listen to anyone or anything. From Shirshenduda (Mukhopadhyay) to Rupadi (Ganguly), I’m thankful to all those people who have come out in our support on social media. I don’t think we have failed to maintain the decorum (of Parliament). We were just the way we actually are. I have always said that I believe in originality. So, I will portray exactly what I am in my daily life. Getting support from all these brilliant people from around the country, makes us even stronger. There are so many MPs who have corruption charges against them, but nobody talks about that.
—Mimi Chakraborty, TMC MP from Jadavpur
Nusrat Jahan tweeted, "A new beginning..!! I thank and people of my constituency to have belief in me."
Trolls don't define my work: Nusrat Jahan
Though a section of people has been trolling us, there is a massive section of new-age, educated Indians voicing support for us. We will always be surrounded by people who like creating a nuisance. This is not new for us. We faced a similar thing earlier too, when we got selected as election candidates. But we have proven ourselves through our work. So, I have always believed in ignoring trolls. Our best answer to them can only be through our hard work in the near future. Trolls will not define the kind of work I want to do to bring about change in people’s lives
—Nusrat Jahan, TMC MP from Basirhat
It’s classic textbook sexism and shouldn’t be given attention. I’ve always maintained that how much ever our politicians bicker on matters political - and whatever our political debates be - we as a polity are united in sexism. This is proof of that! Congratulations to Mimi and Nusrat on their achievements and I hope they continue to wear what they like to the Parliament and wherever else - Swara Bhasker, actress
I wonder when the day will come when a woman’s credibility will be judged by her achievements and not by the outfits she wears– Taapsee Pannu
I don’t think there was anything objectionable in what the two wore. I think they were just being themselves. It is a young generation and I think everyone should be judged on their ability, on their participation in Parliament and not on what they wear and how they look. We should actually encourage and welcome politicians to be themselves and the whole hypocrisy needs to be done away with. We are maturing as a democracy and we should be judging our netas by their contribution and what they stand for, and their political positions and issues, rather than their lifestyle or clothes - Advaita Kala, author
Actually, there is no dress code specified for the Parliament, so there should be no obligation on anyone to dress up in a certain way - Ritu Kumar, designer
More power to these women who are truly representing changing times, and telling other women that they should be what they want to be, they should wear what they want to. Dressing is a personal choice and no one should interfere in that. Who said that politicians cannot be fashionable cannot make a style statement? - Ashish N Soni, designer
Why should there be discussion or debate around what female politicians choose to wear, when there is none in case of male politicians? If one feels that dressing to Parliament should be kept formal, then that should be kept in mind even for male politicians - Rahul Mishra, designer
Dressing is freedom of choice, but what I feel is that for every place and individual, there should be occasion-appropriate dressing. If these two MPs think this is how they want to be represented at their place of work, then nobody should have an objection to that - Payal Jain, designer
-Inputs from [email protected]