Sexism In Politics# Respect Women

Politics is known to be dirty for anyone who dares to venture into it but being a woman in politics in this day and age is not only challenging, it is an exercise in tolerance and self -restraint.Women in this field have to more often than not face incessant mudslinging, shaming and slandering.

They  are judged at many levels and have to face petty, personal and derisive remarks.It seems that most Indian men especially in the political arena cannot handle successful women.India might have moved on but alas, Indian society has not.People seem to have an axe to grind ,when it comes to women who are smart and successful.  If a woman is at the top of her game, it is a forgone conclusion that she has a questionable character. Yet, for a man, the rules are different, multiple relationships somehow add on to his daredevil charm and masculinity. But God help a woman who is successful and unapologetically promiscuous. Everyone  assumes that is the secret to her success. Essentially everything from her sexual history, her appearance, her character has an impact on her work except her caliber, talent and her skills.

Even though India boasts of a capable woman Foreign Minister and a strong woman Defence minister ,  sexism prevails . When people speak of how India has a woman Defence Minister  and Foreign Minister, they seem to forget that these women have got there through sheer merit and against all odds and their gender has no impact on their position.

Unfortunately, it is the so-called leaders and guiding lights who lap up every chance they get to making derogatory remarks about women leaders.

Everyone seems to have a point of view on female politicians and sadly their physical appearance and  parts of their anatomy are scrutinized while their male counterparts are spared this honor. If one wants to avoid this treatment, they have to take on maternal or sisterly roles and Aunty, Didi, Amma and Behenji (sister or mother)—are the terms used for them. Case in point ,smriti Irani, Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati or the late jayalalitha .

It is sad what women in Indian politics have to tolerate, Here is a snapshot of the recent political narrative when seen from  a woman’s eye.

BJP). SP leader Azam Khan, referred to Jaya Prada’s jnnerwear as being khaki which is the colour of the RSS uniform. The comment was highly inappropriate and sexist, to say the least .

Earlier on , Lalu Prasad had insinuated that he wanted to make Bihar’s roads as smooth as Hema Malini’s cheeks.

Maywati , the UP CM has been labeled  a sex worker to questions and being questioned inappropriately about her  gender while Sharad Yadav felt it was important to discuss former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s weight.What  is even more disconcerting is that people take this lying down. Recently , BJP leader, Kailash Vijayvargiya, used chocolatey face for Priyanka Gandhi

Another derogatory remark was made  about Atishi, AAP’s Delhi candidate who apparently broke down while retorting to them on stage.  

Even the clothes and fashion choices of female political leaders are up for public discussion. Another sitting BJP MP, Harish Dwivedi, commented about Priyanka Gandhi’s fashion choices “when she’s in Delhi, Priyanka Gandhi wears jeans and a top, and when she enters the region, she’s wearing a saree). Pray tell me, what is wrong in that, would we not we wear a swimsuit to the pool and a saree or lehenga to a wedding? So, if the lady adapts as per her surroundings, why should she judged. Don’t we all dress as per the occasion and the place?

It does not end here ,Priyanka Gandhi’s beauty is if prime importance ,  about two years back., Vinay Katiyar, had said BJP has “more beautiful women star campaigners than Priyanka Gandhi and Sajjan Singh Verma, Minister of Public Works Department in Madhya Pradesh Government had reportedly said “It is BJP’s bad luck that they do not have someone as beautiful as Priyanka Gandhi in their party.

The Congress President, Rahul Gandhi, is also  particularly concerned about the of the gender of Defence Minister of the country. Taking a jibe at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hinting at Nirmala Sitharaman, Rahul Gandhi recently tweeted that Modi got “a woman” to defend him on Rafael deal in Parliament.

Smriti Irani, despite her political prowess and numerous achievements, has often been dismissed as a brainless television actress. To be fair, the woman is articulate and confident of taking any opposing voices down often leaving intelligent men speechless. So to salvage their bruised male ego, men resort to petty and demeaning tactics. Recently a politician commented about Smriti Irani’s blouse size; drawing attention to her weight and another one, made a petty personal remark about the size of her bindi increasing with her changing  spouses.

It only gets murkier , Congress leader Rashid Alvi, in an event organised by India TV, contextualised his question to Irani by saying "Suna jata hai ki aap Modi-ji ke barekarib hai (It’s said that you’re very close to Modi-ji)". Has anyone ever dared to ask that kind of question to a male politician? All her hard work, her abilities are ignored and she is judged on being a woman and using her magical, seductress abilities to cast a spell on none less than the head of state.

The disgustingly disgraceful and sexist comment was unacceptable at so many levels and is reflective of the fact that masochismo and sexism are the the core of the political framework of the country .

Currently, women are anyways underrepresented in the parliament and  no wonder as almost a decade ago, Mulayam Singh Yadav , a repeat offender himself at slandering women refused to support the Women's Reservation Bill. When it was tabled in Rajya Sabha, Mulayam said that if passed, the Women Reservation Bill "would provoke young men to whistle in Parliament". What does one say to that? Such comments don’t even qualify for a rebuttal. And while addressing the issue of gender parity will certainly assuage the situation,clearly the need of the hour is to respect women.Everyone deserves to live free from the burden of gender stereotypes.

Clearly, women leaders are storming a male bastion and constantly battling stereotypes which perpetuate gender discrimination, but to overcome sexism and offer a level playing field , a lot more needs to be done.

Roles  and success should not be determined by gender but by political competence. Personal remarks should not tolerated and  responsible public figures or leaders should abstain from mudslinging at their female counterparts. These pernicious powerful dynamics will endure until we make enough noise about them.

We all need to learn to respect women, not scrutinizetheir appearance or anatomy, focus on the task they are doing and whether we like them or not, learn not to overstep boundaries of basic decency. Women in Indian-politics or women in general, deserve to be treated with some respect and given their due. One may or may not agree with their political views or affiliation but to malign them and make personal comments is unacceptable.

So, my humble submission is that Priyanka Gandhi’s and Hema Malini’s good looks and Mayawati’s lack thereof-or Jaya Prada choice of lingerie and Smriti Irani’s Bindis Or girth, are not relevant topics of public discourse in a volatile  political scenario like ours .  There are far more pertinent matters to be discussed and much greater problems to resolved in our country .  How and Why are the sartorial choices and the appearance or the size of bindis and waists of female politician of any consequence at all?

PS; I am quite  fascinated by big bindis myself but happen to be married to the same good man for last 15 years and dong plan to change husbands due to my inclination towards fashion.