“I believe that 70 crore women are more important than the 70 crore men, because women by nature are more sensitive, more gentle, more compassionate, forward looking than men, that is why fundamentally young and old women are India’s biggest asset,” Gandhi said.
He added, “The Manusmriti clearly says that a female in childhood must be subject to her father, in youth she belongs to her husband and when her husband is dead she belongs to her children. These words should never have been spoken.”
Gandhi made the comments during ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ (Echo of Students) at the SSPMS ground in Pune, where he interacted with an exclusive women audience.
Gandhi attacked the BJP and the RSS, claiming they wanted women to face restrictions. “The Prime Minister said that he got a cultural shock when women gave abuses during the protest at Jantar Mantar. Even the men had abused, but he didn’t say that about them. Bhagwat says rapes happen in India and not in Bharat, Manohar Lal Khattar says 80 per cent of rapes are happening due to women. These are the mindsets that we are fighting against, they want to cage women, they want to put restrictions on women. We don’t want such an India where men are allowed to do what they want and not women,” he said.
He added, “We need to smash the patriarchy.”
Gandhi said women in the country faced harassment, violence and pressure from society to conform to social norms. He interacted with women in the audience, some of whom spoke about hurdles they face at every step, including eve-teasing, harassment and lack of growth in employment opportunities.Gandhi’s visit, however, had its share of controversy after ABVP and NSUI cadres clashed outside the venue two days earlier in Pune. On Friday, ABVP members claimed that Congress workers were forcing female students of the COEP Technological University hostel campus in Pune to register for the Rahul Gandhi event. The NSUI, however, claimed that the ABVP had threatened and harassed female students to prevent them from participating in the programme.
The BJP has labelled ‘Chhatraon Ki Goonj’ as ‘Echo of Money’, claiming that around 3,000 influencers were paid Rs 30,000 each to publicise the Rahul Gandhi event and questioning where the money was coming from.
