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Sexist Statements By Politicians That Make Us Ask...Are Women Safe In India?

"When 14-year-olds stay on the beach the whole night, the parents need to introspect. Just because children don’t listen, we cannot put the responsibility on the government and police," Goa CM said.

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Are Women Safe In India?: Earlier this week, two minor girls were gangraped by four men on Benaulim beach of Goa. One of the four men accused in the case is a government employee. Sexist Statements By Politicians
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When the opposition inquired Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant about the case, his response not only brought him criticism from the opposition party but shocked the general public too.

Instead of taking accountability for the state of law and order under his governance, the Chief Minister decided to blame the survivors and their parents. He said, "

“When 14-year-olds stay on the beach the whole night, the parents need to introspect. Just because children don’t listen, we cannot put the responsibility on the government and police."

The CM wants women of this country to go out late at night if they don't want to get raped. How fair is that? Aren't we a free nation with individuals who have rights, police and courts of law to ensure those rights? More about the case here.

The number of reported rape cases in India are seeing an upward graph every year. On the surface, we have made amendments to the rape law but how will it stop men from treating women as sex objects if the people in authority are out and about giving shameful statements without even thinking about the repercussions?

CM Pramod Sawant is not the first person to give out his problematic argument on why women are raped in India.

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Here are four more statements by public figures and politicians which in a way prove that India is not safe for women:

'Boys will be boys'

The leader of the Samajwadi Party Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2014 made sure to comfort the molesters of Uttar Pradesh during a rally when he conveniently shifted the blame on women.

He said, "Ladkiyan pehle dosti karti hain. Ladke-ladki mein matbhed ho jata hai. Matbhed hone key baad usey rape ka naam dey deti hain. Ladko sey galti ho jati hai. Kya rape case mein phasi di jayegi?" (First girls make friends with boys. When there are differences between girls and boys, girls accuse boys of rape. Boys make mistakes. Will boys be hanged for rape?) ...what?

Rape Case Judgement time=Victim's age

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister gave a bizarre statement asking the government to ensure that the rape case trials should be concluded in time proportional to rape survivor's age. She said, "I urge the government that in rape cases judgement should be pronounced in number of months equivalent to the age of the victim. So if the victim is 20 years old, the trial should be concluded in 20 months."

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Okay if we assume her intention was to fasten the rape trials which include younger survivors, does she mean that older survivors do not need quick justice?

'Two men raping is not gangrape'

Karnataka's Home Minister K J George in 2015 made headlines for his out of the world understanding of gangrapes and exactly how many rapists we need to call it a gangrape. He said, "How can you call it a gangrape? A gangrape is when four-five people are involved. We should condemn the people who did such an act." His statements came after a 22-year-old woman was gangraped by two men at knifepoint on a ferry when she was on her way home.

'Women wearing ripped cant impart good values to children'

Earlier this year, the former Chief Minister of Uttarkhand Tirath Singh Rawat picked an unusual topic during his public address. He started talking about how young people wear ripped jeans and think of themselves as wise.

What he said next was exactly the thing all men in India wanted to hear so that they can justify their act of policing women for what they wear. The Chief Minister mentioned a woman he met on a flight and went on to share that she had two children with her and was wearing ripped jeans. He seemed genuinely concerned about what values the woman must be imparting to her children.

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And well, after facing backlash for its tone-deaf statement the CM tried to explain himself by saying that he is not against jeans, but doesn't like ripped jeans. Like that was the thing he needed to explain.


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