By Editors
As we begin the 10th anniversary edition of the NWMI’s Gender, Media and Elections initiative, launched in April 2014, we bring you a watchlist that provides evidence of the need to continue to keep an eye on gender-related aspects of electoral politics.
For the purpose of this watchlist, we have compiled sexist and misogynistic remarks by political leaders since the announcement of Parliamentary Election poll dates on March 16, 2024.
As this Deccan Herald editorial reminds us, “There are over 100 Lok Sabha constituencies where women outnumber men. Women’s autonomy and dignity should be respected in politics and the electoral arena, and voters should ensure that those who violate them are punished; especially when parties fail to act against them.”
- 25 May 2024: It is a measure of the times we live in that a Wall of Shame listing sexist and misogynistic remarks by politicians this election season features multiple mentions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At a public meeting in Bihar, Modi said: “For Modi, the Constitution is above all. For Modi, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s thoughts are above all. If INDI Alliance wants to accept the servitude of their vote bank, let them. If they want to perform mujra for them, let them. I’ll not let the SC/ST/OBC reservation get snatched away. I will fight for it till the time I am alive.”
The statement was a continuation of Modi’s campaign theme alleging, with no foundation, that INDIA intends to snatch resources and reservations away from the rest of the country and re-allocate them to Muslims. In addition, his derogatory use of mujra – a word that traditionally describes dance performances by women for an exclusive audience of aristocrats and other financially privileged men – draws on a widespread stigmatisation of women in the performing arts. Modi was playing into a stereotype of mujra dancers as being sexually available to the highest payer. In this case, his insinuation was that the Opposition was willing to cheapen itself for votes and dance to the tunes of a particular vote bank. The fact that mujras are largely associated with Mughal courts and later Muslim rulers in the popular imagination adds another dimension of prejudice to his sexist comment.
- 15 May 2024: Former Calcutta High Court judge and BJP candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay at a public meeting in Haldia, West Bengal, said: “Today, the Trinamool says everything is a lie. Rekha Patra (one of the protesters and BJP’s Basirhat candidate) was bought for Rs 2,000. Mamata Banerjee, how much are you being sold for? One gives you Rs 8 lakh and gets a job, one gives you Rs 10 lakh and ration vanishes… Why is your rate Rs 10 lakh? Is it because you get your makeup done by Keya Seth (Kolkata-based beautician)?… How can a woman make such a comment about another woman (Patra), we can’t understand? Is Mamata Banerjee even a woman? I wonder sometimes.” Following a complaint by Trinamool Congress, the Election Commission sought an explanation from Gangopadhyay and on 21 May 2024 barred him from campaigning for 24 hours.Related: A price on her head – How men value women in West Bengal
- 6 and 13 May 2024: Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah reacted to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s remarks on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s integration with India: “If the defence minister is saying it, then go ahead. Who are we to stop? But remember, they [Pakistan] are also not wearing bangles. It has atom bombs, and unfortunately, that atom bomb will fall on us [India],” In his attempt to remind his political opponent of the nuclear capabilities of Pakistan, Abdullah used the oft-used sexist and patriarchal trope of choodiyan or bangles being a sign of weakness. The reference to bangles didn’t stop there. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took it further. In response to Abdullah, Modi said this at a rally in Bihar: “If Pakistan is not wearing bangles, we will make them wear bangles… They don’t have flour, they don’t have electricity, now I have come to know that they even have a scarcity of bangles.”
- 21 April 2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this at a campaign rally in Rajasthan: “Earlier, when their (Congress) government was in power, they had said that Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources. This means these resources will be collected, and to whom will they be distributed? They will be distributed among those who have more children. They will be distributed to infiltrators. Will your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators? Is this acceptable to you? The Congress manifesto says they will calculate our mothers’ and sisters’ gold, get information about it, then distribute it. And they will distribute it to those about whom Manmohan Singh’s government had said that Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources. Brothers and sisters, this is the thinking of urban naxals. My mothers and sisters, they will not even spare your mangalsutras.”
Modi’s speech, which misrepresented the Congress’ manifesto and the previous Congress government’s stand on the country’s resources, was widely condemned as hate speech against Muslims. While the Election Commission received several complaints about this, it is important to also draw attention to another troubling aspect of his words: the harping on mangalsutras reflects the patriarchal attitude that links a woman’s identity and worth primarily, often entirely, to her marital status. The mangalsutra is not merely seen as a gold chain among conservatives – it is a symbol of a woman’s elevated social position as a wife, and a metaphor for her husband’s safety and his life. Modi’s claim that women’s mangalsutras would be snatched away from them and given to Muslims was thus more than just a discussion on economics and wealth distribution. Through it, he was implying an existential threat to his target audience from the Muslim community, in deeply patriarchal terms. - 18 April 2024: Shiv Sena-UBT leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was addressing a campaign rally in Amaravati when he said this about actor-turned-politician and BJP’s candidate Navneet Rana: “The Lok Sabha election is a contest not against a dancer or ‘babli’ (a con character in a Hindi film) but a fight between Maharashtra and Modi. She is a dancer, an actor on the screen who will make affectionate gestures, but do not fall for that trap.” The BJP has urged the Election Commission to take strict action against Raut. It was reported that women functionaries of the BJP and Yuva Swabhiman Party also held protests.
- 13 April 2024: Former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) said this while addressing a roadshow in Tumakuru, Karnataka: “After the implementation of the Congress’ guarantee schemes, some of our mothers in the villages have lost their way (daaritappiddare)…”. It casts women as ignorant or easily tempted by the schemes and also strips them of the dignity of availing schemes as rightful citizens, and not ‘beneficiaries’ to whom crumbs are scattered. It led to a furore and Kumaraswamy apologised. However, he said Congress was trying to twist his remarks and pointed out comments made by Congress leaders about women recently. Kumaraswamy has received a notice from the Women’s Commission, and Congress has filed a complaint with the Election Commission, seeking legal action.
- 6 April 2024: Political discourse in India does not shy away from targeting the partners or spouses of political leaders, especially if they are female. BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal was asked by the media about Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao’s statement on Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. He responded, “Pakistan is in Dinesh Gundu Rao’s house. His house is half-Pakistani,” presumably as Rao’s wife, Tabassum Rao is a Muslim. She has filed a police complaint and also spoken to the Election Commission, she said. She demanded an apology from Yatnal, and asked how he could question her Indian-ness.
- 3 April 2024: Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala was seen making these remarks during an election rally in Haryana: “MLA/ MP kyun banate hain? Taaki vo hamari awaaz utta sake, hamarai baat manvaye, isliye banate honge. Koi Hema Malini tho nahi, jo chaatne ke liye banate hain? (Why is someone made an MLA/ MP? It is to raise voices for us, this is why they are made so. Not Hema Malini, who is made for licking?)” In response, Surjewala accused the BJP’s IT cell of ‘distorting’ the clip, and uploading selective bits from it, adding the video must be watched in full, where he speaks of respect for BJP MP and actor Hema Malini. Following the circulation of the video on social media, the Haryana State Women Commission issued summons against him.
- 30 March 2024: Congress MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa said BJP’s candidate from Davangere constituency in Karnataka, Gayathri Siddeshwara, is only “fit to cook”, adding that Siddeshwara “cannot even speak properly and should understand her constituency first before seeking votes”.
- 29/30/31 March 2024: DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on the campaign trail in Thiruvalluvar, Tamil Nadu, said opposition leader and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami lays flat before Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, and kneels in front of former AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala. Following murmurs from the crowd, he clarifies that EPS knelt down to touch her feet and nothing else, well aware of the sexual innuendo. In 2021, a case was filed against Udhayanidhi Stalin after similar remarks about EPS and Sasikala.
- 27 March 2024: DMK MP Kathir Anand on the campaign trail in Tamil Nadu had this to say to women voters while mentioning the government’s financial scheme for women, “I can see that your faces look bright. Is it Fair & Lovely, Ponds’ powder, makeup? I don’t know. What is the reason? Have you got Rs1,000? That’s why” He has said this more than once making clear the implication that women buy cosmetics when provided with financial assistance, attempting to trivialise a woman’s decision-making skills especially with regard to money.
- 26 March 2024: BJP MP Dilip Ghosh made these comments about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while speaking to the media on March 26, 2024: “Didi giye Goate bole ami Goa r mey, Tripura et ami Tripura r mey, baap to thik korun, jar tar mey howa thik noy (When Didi goes to Goa, she becomes Goa’s daughter; in Tripura, she says I am Tripura’s daughter, decide who is your father, this is not right)”. Following this, the Election Commission and BJP national president J P Nadda issued show-cause notices to Ghosh. The West Bengal Police have also booked him for the comments.
- 25 March 2024: This derogatory post about actor-politician Kangana Ranaut appeared on the Instagram account of Supriya Shrinate, Chairperson of Congress’ Social Media and Digital Platforms: “Kya bhav chal raha hai Mandi main koi batayega (can someone say what is the going rate in Mandi)” with a photograph of Ranaut and reference to her constituency, Mandi in Himachal Pradesh (Mandi is also market in Hindi). Shrinate denied her involvement, and insisted that the remarks were posted by someone who had access to her accounts. She described the post as “absolutely disgusting and objectionable” and had it taken down. Following this, the Election Commission issued a show-cause notice to her. The Congress also dropped Shrinate from its list of Lok Sabha candidates.
We had hoped this list would lead to an improved awareness about sexist and misogynistic comments this election season, and contribute to an overall reduction.
