'In North India, girls are asked to do only household chores': DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran sparks row

DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran sparked a political uproar on Tuesday when he made remarks comparing the status of women in northern states with that of Tamil Nadu.

Addressing students at the Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women in Chennai, Maran claimed that girls in several northern states are discouraged from pursuing education and careers and are instead encouraged to stay at home to do household chores, while Tamil Nadu actively promotes women’s education and empowerment.

“Our girl students should be proud. In North Indian states, they ask girl children not to go for jobs and to stay inside the house and do housework, but here we want our girls to study,” he said.

Further, Maran said that northern states do not promote education in English and claimed that girls are kept as "slaves".

“You are asked not to study English and are told you will be ruined if you do. You will be kept as slaves."

Maran claimed that restricting education to Hindi contributes to the unemployment in the northern regions, while Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian model promotes equal access to education for both girls and boys. He added that this led to higher levels of literacy in the southern state, paving way to greater workforce participation among women.

'Best state in India'

Maran also praised the ruling DMK government and called Tamil Nadu the "best state in India", adding that the administration supported the Dravidian movement's emphasis on social justice and women’s education.

He said social reformer Periyar's Dravidian ideology laid the foundation for girls’ education in the state and that the current government was following those principles.

Political uproar

The remarks drew cricticism for the broad generalisation, triggering debate on social media and in political circles.

“I don’t think Dayanidhi Maran has any common sense. This is the problem. I strongly condemn his remarks, and he must apologise to the people of India, especially those who speak Hindi, whom he has portrayed as uneducated and uncivilised,” BJP leader Thirupathy Narayanan told news agency ANI.