The stink of misogyny

Kamal Nath is not the first Indian politician to denigrate women with a crass and demeaning remark, and he will not be the last. Patriarchy and misogyny are so deeply ingrained in the Indian male mind and behaviour that we might need a social revolution lasting generations to make it an equal society. The Congress leader’s reference to a woman candidate in the Madhya Pradesh bypoll as “item” ranks with some other poor remarks made about women in politics by many politicians. Narendra Modi’s “Pachas karod (Rs 50 crore) ki girlfriend” and “Congress ki vidhwa” (widow of Congress) remarks are infamous, and there have been umpteen other insulting and derogatory comments on women politician’s bodies, looks, dress, habits and conduct. They are all weapons in a sexist armoury and politicians use them to run down women in opposite camps and even in their own. It is basic to being male for many.

Kamal Nath burst into derisive laughter also, enjoying his own insulting remark. He did not regret his insolence even after wide criticism and disapproval from the party’s top leader Rahul Gandhi. An insincere explanation and apology had to be literally extracted out of him. In a misogynistic society, to regret a word against a woman, however uncouth it is, is considered beneath oneself. It is par for the sexist course to stand one’s shameful ground because you might otherwise be considered weak and less manly. It is not known how his audience reacted to the outrage. It is likely that there was no disagreement, because he would not have made the remark if he
knew it would not be appreciated. Politicians are nothing if they do not know the men they talk to. So, the problem is not just Kamal Nath and his ilk in any party, but also the constituency to which they appeal. This is the male Indian mind, entrenched in privilege and prejudice, and Kamal Nath may be just about every man, to our shame.

The few Indian politicians who excelled themselves in politics, like Indira Gandhi, Jayalalitha and Mamata Banerjee had to fight this most unequal world to make a mark. Even with the advantage of family legacy and popularity in other fields, it was difficult for many, and for those who had just a name and the spirit, life in politics could only have been a fight every day. Every woman in public life who has to go through the fire test of abuse, slander and worse is a slap on the face of those like Kamal Nath. But the very fact that we call each of them the only man in their world shows how skewed the world is.