Why Do Politicians Get Away With Sexist And Misogynist ‘Rants’?

With elections around the corner, the sexist attacks on female politician can’t be ignored. Female politicians across parties are censured for their physical appearances, choice of clothing while sexist comments about them hardly evoke any response. For instance, Mayawati has constantly been attacked for her looks, politicians have called her ‘ugly’ and, ‘worse than an eunuch’ even by female politicians.

At a rally in Ghazipur, Om Prakash Singh had said, “Aap log toh bahut bahadur ho. Jab aap log Mayawati jaisi soorat ki aurat ko panch saal tak jhel sakte ho, toh thoda samay toh hum logon ko bhi de sakte ho” (You people are very brave. When you can tolerate a woman with Mayawati’s face for five years, surely you can give us some time too).

BJP MLA Sadhna Singh says about BSP chief Mayawati, “Jis din mahila ka blouse, petticoat, saari phat jaaye, wo mahila na satta ke liye aage aati hai. Usko pure desh ki mahila kalankit maanti hai. Wo to kinnar se bhi jyada badtar hai, kyunki wo to na nar hai, na mahila hai” (The day a woman’s blouse is torn, petticoat is torn, sari is torn, that woman must not come forward to achieve powers because she becomes tainted, The whole country deems her tainted. She is worse than a eunuch because she is neither a man nor a woman).

Why can’t political opponents criticise them for their flawed politics without launching an attack on their looks or clothes? We rarely see male politicians scrutinised for their physical appearances.

Even Smriti Irani has been subjected to body shaming, comments against her personal life. Recently Congress ally Jaydeep Kawade made crude remarks against Smriti Irani. He said that she wears a big bindi on her forehead and the size of the bindi keeps getting bigger as she changes her husband.

“Smriti ji, who is a minister for Gadkari and Modi, sits in the Parliament and talks about changing the Constitution, but she should remember that changing the Constitution is not as easy as changing your husband,” said Kawade in his sexist rant against the Union textiles minister.

The latest enterant, Priyanka Gandhi, has also been a victim of similar crude and sexist comments. Yet another BJP leader has stoked controversy by allegedly referring to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as “skirt waali bai” (skirt-wearing woman). Uttar Pradesh, BJP’s Jayakaran Gupta said that “One Congress leader loudly asks if ‘ache din’ have come. He can’t see the ‘ache din’…Skirt waali bai has started wearing sari and visiting temples, those who hate ganga jal are now visiting the Ganga.”

Also read: Will Women Politicians Ever Stop Being Judged On Their Appearances?

Above mentioned are just a few examples to highlight the chauvanistic attitude of our politicians towards female politicians. Politics is not a field famed for gallant behaviour but at times some of them stoop to a new low when it comes to female politicians. The crude language mixed with profanities reserved for female politicians reflects the deep rot in the psyche of men who are not comfortable to see women fighting and holding onto power. These men get disturbed by independent women who can challenge them.

These politicians are our lawmakers and enforcers but they themselves lack the basic decency when dressing their female colleagues.

These women are powerful politicians but are still subjected to misogynistic comments which should worry about the treatment meted out to the common women in our society. Why can’t political opponents criticise them for their flawed politics without launching an attack on their looks or clothes? We rarely see male politicians scrutinised for their physical appearances.

These politicians are our lawmakers and enforcers but when they themselves lack the basic decency when dressing their female colleagues, how can we expect them to respect and protect the larger female population? Why do parties shield these uncouth politicians and more importantly why do female politicians keep quiet when they hear sexist rants against each other? Why don’t they stop or at least speak out against such disgusting behaviour? Are political affiliations and ideologies bigger than female dignity?

Also read: Why Are We So Obsessed With The Personal Lives Of Female Politicians?

These questions need to be asked for we have handed the task of protecting our women to these politicians who leave no occasion to demonstrate their sick mentality. Hardly any party takes disciplinary action further making it easier for these politicians to repeat such comments.