Case registered against magazine Grihalakshmi

kerala, March 02: A criminal case under the Indecent Representation of Women Act has been filed on Friday on the controversial cover page of the Malayalam women's magazine Grihalakshmi which shows a woman gazing at the reader with a gentle smile on her lips and an infant at her breast.

The case was registered by advocate Vinod Matthew against the publisher and the model in the CJM court of Kollam in Kerala. The charges have been filed under Section 3 and 4 of indecent representation of women (Prohibition) act 1986.

The magazine claims it is the first time an Indian publication has put the image of a woman breastfeeding on the front cover. The image is part of a campaign called "Breastfeed Freely," which aims to stop shaming women breastfeeding in public but the decision to use a model who is not a mother herself is a major point of contention among many netizens.

It is alleged in the complaint that the picture is lascivious in nature, appealing to prurient interests and tends to degrade the dignity of womanhood.