 "Representative image. PTI")
Elections are not just part of the electoral process in India but are a celebration of democracy. From national to regional parties, everyone is gearing up to try and secure victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Amid all the festive fervour, women politicians have been at the receiving end of sexist comments. As politics continues to be a male-dominant space, female leaders often have to bear the brunt of discriminatory remarks at the behest of their male colleagues.
Here are a few instances of comments against women politicians that sparked uproar both this year and in earlier election years.
The most recent case of sexist slur hurled by a party leader against a female opposition leader includes BJP MP and star candidate Hema Malini. Last week, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said, “Why people elect their MLAs/MPs? So that they (MLAs/MPs) can raise the public’s voice. It’s not like Hema Malini, who was elected to lick,” as per a video posted by BJP’s IT Department head Amit Malviya
Next comes the infamous case of actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut, who was recently fielded by the BJP as the candidate of Mandi. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate landed in trouble after she posted one of Ranaut’s pictures on her Instagram account accompanied by a caption that read: “Mandi me bhaav kya chal raha hai?”
In 2022, Union Minister Smriti Irani was similarly attacked by Congress leader Ajay Rai by saying, “She (Irani) only comes to her constituency Amethi to show latke-jhatke (show off)”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been at the receiving end of sexist slurs multiple times, the most recent one by BJP’s Dilip Ghosh who raised questions about her parentage which triggered a row among the Opposition
In Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s wife Rabri Devi was asked by the then Union minister Ashwini Choubey to “stay behind her ghoonghat”
BJP leader, Vinay Katiyar, reportedly asked whether Congress leader Sonia Gandhi would be able to give proof to Rahul Gandhi that his father was Rajiv Gandhi
Former UP Chief Minister Mayawati has also been the target of remarks as vile as being called worse than a prostitute by BJP’s Dayashankar Singh in 2016, who alleged that the Dalit leader sold tickets in exchange for money