The Hindu, in an editorial on Narendra Modi’s reluctance to reveal that he was married, a fact that has now become public knowledge as his party projects him as a prime ministerial aspirant, refers to this as “somewhat misogynist reticence”. Can something like this be really called “misogynist reticence” or is it indicative of a person who cares little for what happens to women who are abandoned by their husbands? There are millions of women like Jashodhaben, Narendra Modi’s wife. Society generally heaps the blame on them if the husband leaves. These women do not know that they have the right to demand maintenance. And in the end they have to depend on their families who do not necessarily treat them with compassion. The editorial however does bring out the statistics on the status of women in Gujarat where, for instance, the sex ratio is lower than the national average and the conviction rate for rape is also lower.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/inexplicable-reticence/article5911903.ece
Kalpana Sharma
