S B Madhavi, Chennai’s first woman dafadar, has been transferred to the Manali zone following a controversy involving her choice to wear bright lipstick while accompanying Chennai Mayor R Priya Madhavi, who holds the ceremonial sceptre and clears the way for the Mayor in crowded areas of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), claims her transfer stems from violating an informal directive from her superiors regarding her appearance. Expressing outrage, Madhavi views the transfer as an infringement on her personal rights. She stated that her decision to wear lipstick, deemed too bright in comparison to the Mayor’s, became the root cause of her reassignment.

The incident has sparked discussions around gender rights and workplace regulations under the Dravidian model social justice government. Madhavi, 50, Chennai’s first woman dafadar, has contested her recent transfer to the Manali zone following a memo she received on August 6, 2024, accusing her of “dereliction of duty, not coming to work during working hours, and disobeying orders from her superiors.” Madhavi has strongly denied the accusations, particularly disputing claims of tardiness and insubordination.

She clarified that she was only 30 minutes late on the specified day due to a leg injury and maintained that she had followed all orders, except the informal directive concerning her decision to wear lipstick, which she believes sparked the transfer. Madhavi, came under scrutiny after defying an instruction fro.