Even politicians’ wives aren’t immune to misogynist jibes from rivals in politics, especially during the election season in our country. The desperation among politicians and political parties to one-up each other in upcoming Lok Sabha elections is getting worse with each passing day. The jibes they are taking against each other swerve between being cruel, sexist to outright demeaning. But is it fair to drag a rival politicians wife in this war of crassness? How is it that we tolerate one politician using a woman's faith to demean her husband? Our lukewarm reactions to these sexist comments from politicians is the reason they dare to make such uncharitable remarks and get away with it.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde made inappropriate remarks against Dinesh Gundu Rao's wife in a tweet.
- Is it fair to drag wives or their faith in political debates just to take a jibe at a rival politician?
- These comments are not just desperate, they show how insensitive and sexist some of our elected leaders are.
Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde recently passed inappropriate remarks against Tabu Rao, wife of President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, Dinesh Gundu Rao. When Rao and Hegde got into an altercation on Twitter, the latter resorted to making a tasteless remark on Rao’s wife and her faith. Rao had questioned Hegde’s achievements as a Union Minister on Twitter. “What are your achievements after becoming a Union Minister or as MP? What are your contributions for Karnataka’s development? All I can say for sure, it’s deplorable that such people have become ministers & have managed to get elected as MP’s.”
Hegde retaliated with a tweet of his own saying, “I shall definitely answer this guy @dineshgrao's queries, before which could he please reveal himself as to who he is along with his achievements? I only know him as a guy who ran behind a Muslim lady.”
Was it necessary for Hegde to drag Rao’s wife into their much public and political altercation? He could have stopped at asking about Rao’s own achievements. He could have even taken shots at Rao’s political agenda or that of his party's. There was simply no need to pass a misogynist remark against his wife into this argument, or mention her faith. Hegde's intention was clearly to demean Rao by using his wife's religion as an insult. Tabu Rao released a statement citing how his comments were disrespectful towards her and her family. But this isn't the first time a war of words has crossed the line of dignity. With both Congress and BJP eyeing the 2019 general elections, and pundits touting it to be a close call, politicians are practically vomiting sensational statements on social media and to the press.
It seems too much to expect chivalry from our politicians. But we certainly cannot tolerate sexist or misogynist diatribes on public platforms. No party is an exception here. Be it calling out the Prime Minister for hiding behind a woman or taking shots at a fellow politician for “running after” a woman from another faith, these comments paint a vivid picture, which shows what kind of mindset our politicians have. If you can resort to saying such things under pressure, it shows your virtues are quite shaky and you have little or no respect for women. We are fast running out of leaders who hold their tongue than disrespect women just to have an upper hand in an argument.
If you can resort to saying such things under pressure, it shows your virtues are quite shaky and you have little or no respect for women.
Is it a demerit to marry a woman from another faith? Is it something a man should feel ashamed of? Should a wife have her personal life dissected in public because her husband is a politician? But who is responsible for setting the boundaries in political dialogues then? When politicians forget their limits. We the electorate should. It is our duty to remind politicians that there is a line they cannot cross. While the media is busy sensationalising these comments and getting “reactions” on them, we need to stand up and say that we won’t tolerate sexist slurring against anyone, be it politicians or politicians’ wives. The question is, do we even want to resist? Or are we enjoying these unnecessary and regressive discourses?
Picture Credit: Financial Express
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Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own.
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