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Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Rahul Gandhi to girls: ‘Smash Patriarchy’

Says, girls are being relegated to remain caged, but boys get full freedom to do whatever they want Pune : In an all-out attack on the ancient ‘Manusmriti’ social code, Congress Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi issued a clarion call to “Smash Patriarcy” which seeks to control, confine and silence women, while denying them freedom, dignity, safety and economic independence. Speaking in bouts at the fourth edition of ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ in Pune, Rahul Gandhi bluntly told thousands...

Rahul Gandhi to girls: ‘Smash Patriarchy’

Says, girls are being relegated to remain caged, but boys get full freedom to do whatever they want Pune : In an all-out attack on the ancient ‘Manusmriti’ social code, Congress Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi issued a clarion call to “Smash Patriarcy” which seeks to control, confine and silence women, while denying them freedom, dignity, safety and economic independence. Speaking in bouts at the fourth edition of ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ in Pune, Rahul Gandhi bluntly told thousands of young women to be “loud, proud, and fight for their space rather than live in fear of men or social diktats” – amidst intermittent roars of approval or thundering applause, and cheers of ‘Rahul, Rahul’ booming inside and outside the venue. Touching some sensitive issues, the Congress leader - sporting a stunning yellow shirt symbolising ‘hope’ - said women had historically been portrayed in a poor light and continued to face discrimination at virtually every stage of life, due to ‘Manusmriti’. “India’s 70-cr women are its biggest asset, they are more forward-looking than men. Women are the strength of India, yet they are given a raw deal at all levels. Over 450,000 girls are killed in female feticide annually in India,” Rahul Gandhi thundered. He explained how ‘control’ over women begins early and in different ways forcing them to abandon education, face discrimination at home, work places, in society till they reach “a marriageable age”, and even later on in life. “Girls are being relegated to remain caged, but boys get full freedom to do whatever they want. We don’t want such a nation. Break this cage,” he exhorted the gathering, and showed video clips of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders to emphasise his points. Rahul Gandhi then asked the audience whether men tried to control them in different aspects of their lives. The response was an emphatic and stormy “Yes…! Yes…!” Continuing, he said control of women takes several forms - violence, disrespect, restrictions on time and movement, and pressure to conform - and often disguised as empty concerns: “Kuchh ho gaya to…?”, as the 15,000 crowd roared its approval. Reeling off figures on women’s mobility, education, property ownership and safety, Rahul Gandhi said the consequences of all went far beyond physical violence, leading to a “violence of opportunity” and even imposing an additional financial burden on women for their own safety annually. He pointed to the deep-rooted expectations – which many women who joined him on the state also expressed - that sons would “look after parents while daughters would eventually get married and leave”, a typical mindset that perpetuates discrimination against girls even today. Reiterating that women are the foundation and future of India, and the ‘cage’ around them must be broken, Rahul Gandhi made a direct emotional, personal and political appeal: “We want justice and respect for all, including the boys. Help to bring the women out of their fears…” Steely girls ‘steal’ the show Though there was no dearth of big political and social issues at Rahul Gandhi’s all-women Chhatron Ki Goonj on Saturday, it was a few women who shocked and awed the gathering with powerful experiences - of sexual harassment, social control, cyber blackmail, discrimination, unsafe public transport, tribal neglect and examination frauds. A young lady lawyer began with a question that captured the frustration of many women: Why must a woman constantly prove herself to a man? Another woman spoke about the unequal expectations within relationships, wherein boys often preferred women in conventional 9-to-5 jobs who could also shoulder the total domestic burden. Gandhi asked why a man would not be proud to have an independent woman as his partner. The answer from the young woman was stark: “Because an independent woman is harder to control. Patriarchal thinking tried to dictate a woman’s education, career and choices”. A young girl from Palghar boldly narrated a deeply personal account of how, when was just 13, while walking to school five kms away, she and a friend were surrounded by three married men from a neighbouring village who tried to molest them. She escaped and told her father, and she along with her mother lodged a police complaint, the accused were nabbed and thrashed, but the village turned against her. Her family was pressured to withdraw her from school, but her father stood by her, and in 2022 she came to Pune to continue her education. Even in Pune, she once slapped a boy who misbehaved with her in a bus while other girls remained silent and on another occasion, when a drunk man misbehaved with her, women in the vicinity failed to intervene. A young woman passionate about cyber security spoke of the new AI-generated threats girls face with fake images and virtual blackmail. She questioned why government colleges can’t offer affordable cyber-security courses, particularly with scholarships for women. “We don’t want favours. We only want a fair chance,” she pleaded. A Muslim woman from Bhiwandi spoke of girls being discouraged from higher education because “families fear that independence may make them challenge traditional authority”. She also described the fears women experience during ordinary commutes by buses or trains, and called upon boys to help women feel safe and to women to support one another.

Unrest within Mahayuti

Updated: Jan 21, 2025

Mahayuti

Mumbai: The state administration on Sunday stalled the appointments of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik districts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cleared the appointments before he left for Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum on Saturday. They are believed to have been stalled on behest of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the state in absence of the Chief Minister.


NCP’s Aditi Tatkare and BJP’s Girish Mahajan were entrusted with responsibilities of guardian minister for the Raigad and Nashik districts respectively, where Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale and Dada Bhuse had staked claims. Gogawale is a first-time minister while, Bhuse had been the guardian minister of the district during previous government under Eknath Shinde.


Shiv Sena, NCP and BJP all the three constituents of Mahayuti have strong roots in both the districts. However, the Shiv Sena and the NCP had been particularly on loggerheads there. The Shiv Sena, which had been demanding the guardian minister’s post in Nashik district has managed to win only two assembly seats in the district where the NCP has Six and the BJP has Five MLAs. On the contrary, in Raigad the NCP has won only one seat while the Shiv Sena and the BJP both have Three MLAs each in the district.


Sunil Tatkare, MP from Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and the stat unit president of the NCP and father of Aditi Tatkare, had been the guardian minister of Raigad between 2004 and 2014. Gogawale had always been his political opponent before Tatkare joined the Mahayuti government under Ajit Pawar’s leadership in 2023. Gogawale claimed that all the Six Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs in the district had opined in his favour to be the guardian minister of the district and after the decision to appoint Aditi Tatkare was announced, his supporters resorted to violent protests. They burnt tyres in bid to stall traffic on highway in the district. Reacting to the developments, Tatkare said that the issue should be pondered over after CM Fadnavis returns from Davos on Saturday and settled amicably.


In Nashik Girish Mahajan had been the guardian minister of the district between 2014 and 2019 when Fadnavis was the Chief Minister.


The post of guardian minister doesn’t have any constitutional mandate and is considered to be a political appointment. Guardian ministers head the district planning and development councils (DPDC) that control the funds for development works being carried out in the particular district. This control wields much of political power to the minister in that district whereby spreading the party in the district becomes much easier. This is the reason why the grass root politicians seem to be very sensitive to such appointments.


While Gogawale and Bhuse are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian ministers, some others like NCP’s Hasan Mushrif and BJP’s Pankaja Munde are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian district in their home districts of Kolhapur and Beed respectively. DCM Shinde is learnt to have gone to his ancestral village Dare in Satara district after the decision and BJP’s firefighters Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Girish Mahajan are expected to meet him there to try finding a way out of the issue.

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