Public nudity Vs private nudity:

Nudity in a person's home or private grounds is not public nudity. Nor can nudity at privately owned facilities such as: swimming pools, saunas, gymnasia, nudist or at naturist clubs or resorts be termed as public nudity. In all advanced countries privacy of an individual and that of a private association is respected. Hence the public laws do not interfere in the affairs of such premises and clubs. In contrast public nudity refers to nudity in the public places. Here also there are countries which permit nudity in certain public places like a few designated beaches etc.

Attitude to nudity is culture specific.
In one extreme end we’ve the Taliban, which mandates that no part of women be seen in public and they must come out with a Burka. In the other, we’ve Naga Sadhus and the digambar Jain monks who assert their religiosity by remaining naked. The Adamites- an early Christian sect- practiced "holy nudism", lived in absolute lawlessness and stripped themselves naked while engaged in common worship.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_nudity

In most advanced countries there are legally permitted areas where nudity is not an offence.

A list of 10 most popular clothing optional beaches in the world is as follows:
1. Little Beach, Maui, Hawaii
2. Wreck Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia
3. San Onofre State Beach, Orange County, California
4. Cap d’Agde, Vermeille Coast, France
5. Haulover Beach, Miami, Florida
6. Apollo Beach, Volusia County, Florida
7. Hanlan’s Point Beach, Toronto, Canada
8. Gunnison Beach, Sandy Hook, N.J.
9. Samurai Beach, Port Stephens, Australia
10. Anse de Grand Saline/Anse du Gouverneur, St. Barthelemy

Source: matadornetwork.com

Legal position of nudity across the globe:
Legal position of a country is heavily influenced by their religio-cultural stand. In all secular countries it is accepted that a naked human body in itself is not indecent. It is the circumstances which may make it offensive or undesirable. This stand permits artistic expressions, where artists paint nude portraits or carve out nude sculptures.

In a more tolerant place like Barcelona, public nudity is regarded as a recognized right, although, even there, there have been successful prosecutions for public nudity.

Nudity is an absolute no no in religious countries and though they claim that they are the preserves of morality, findings of independent and credible bodies like transparency international etc. show that it is exactly the opposite. Afghanistan and Pakistan, where people have to adhere to a strict religious moral code – as per Islamic sariah- have been found to be extremely corrupt and the condition of women is horrible. And the culprit is: their religious obscurantism. It is a fact that hazaras – people of a minority Islamic community- are routinely sodomised by the Taliban- the people who make such heavy weather about Islamic purity!

In contrast, in Scandinavian countries and Japan- which are highly atheistic- public morality is the best and so is the condition of women. All Scandinavian countries value human dignity and freedom of the individual and hence are countries which allow a higher degree of permissiveness. Japan stands at a slightly different plain where group ethos and nationalistic culture gets predominance. Yet, owing to their academic and industrial advancements they have worked out a fine balance.

Indian stand:
We in India are not that obsessed with attire- especially women’s’ attire – as the Taliban is in the Islamic world. Neither have we matured to that extent that we can tolerate nudity legally. However it’s pertinent to mention here that in India- owing to the gross failure of the legal apparatus in delivering timely justice- two worlds exist together.

The law may ban nude beaches and nudity in clubs, yet it’s not uncommon to find such clubs and private places, in cities like Mumbai and Goa. It is similar to prohibition in Gujarat. Though, alcohol consumption is banned in Gujarat- the only state having such a ban- yet for people who can spend, every brand- worth its name- is available in the market! This is symptomatic and most corrupt and failed states share the same ignominy. Fortunately we are not a failed state!

Nudity and modern jurisprudence:
Modern jurisprudence looks into the ‘intent’ behind nudity and if accusation of indecent ‘exhibitionism’ or ‘public indecency’ sticks then only a person is persecuted for nudity- not otherwise. So when PETA – People for ethical treatment of animal- go naked to protest against the use of fur etc their nudity should be looked as an expression of genuine protest and such activists are not hounded.

The touchy Indian public and the ever compliant politicians:
We do not know how our elites and the countrymen would take to the news of Julia Roberts – a well known PETA supporter and a Hollywood celebrity- walking naked on the Janpath – in New Delhi- to uphold animal rights in India. Yet, indications of the past show that, if at all it happens, she would be permitted to show her protests and then she would be arrested, soon after, to placate the nationalists. This would be a token arrest, so she would be promptly released and would be granted a VVIP status- befitting her stature and there by it would not horrify the right activists. In our own tradition, we would continue to debate about the vulgarity and the utility of her protest for a very long time till something more shocking diverts our attention.

Time we ( in emerging economies like India)had some statesmen:
We can no longer look the other way when real issues like nudity and obscenity come up and it's time we amended our legislations to bring them in line with the humanistic modern world. We can not afford to leave a void in such important issues. Wait a minute, actually there is no void, all available space is being ruthlessly invaded by the obscurantist- whether religious or nationalistic- and this does not bode well for our future!


We must decide:

1.      What is public nudity?

2.      What are the rights of an individual with respect to her own body?  

3.      In this regard, whether we would continue to be led by ignorant sensationalists or we’d embrace mature best practices?

What reasonable rights one should have with respect to covering or baring ones own body?

Having gathered matured answers to all above we’d codify our stand for judicial references and guidance.

Conclusion:
Having decided upon a humane code, with respect to public nudity, we’d bring about humanistic changes in our other existing legislation(s). And, that would be another bold step in the direction of making our society more humanistic. So shall we?

(Word count = 1110)