DCW Chief Swati Maliwal
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), through a letter to the police on Saturday, 10th August, has sought an FIR against the Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and BJP MP Vijay Goel for their sexist remarks about Kashmiri women.
Earlier this month, Khattar stoked a major controversy with his remarks about Kashmiri women, while speaking at an event in Fatehabad. “Nowadays people think that the path to Kashmir has been cleared people, so now we will bring girls from Kashmir,” said Khattar in reference to the recent abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special status to Jammu & Kashmir. Ironically, the BJP CM was speaking at the campaign event of the government’s “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” campaign in Haryana.
The letter issued by DCW reads, “Such statements by those in high constitutional offices reinforce the notions of a patriarchal society and severely undermine the value and voice of women and girls”.
Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, researcher and activist Sahba Husain said, “[it was] absolutely outrageous and morally degrading” that such a remark could be made about Kashmiri women in this situation.
There has been a string of offensive statements from BJP politicians, following the scrapping of Article 370 and Article 35 A. The comments by CM Khattar followed Khatauli constituency’s BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini’s comments, who thought Muslim members of the BJP should be content with the Centre’s decision, for they could now “marry white-skinned Kashmiri girls”.
Apart from the obvious misogyny, the DCW statement indicates how such controversial comments would also incite violence and worsen an already tense situation in the country, and points out that its necessary to file an FIR against the politicians who have made them.
“At a time when several states are on high alert, such insensitive and crass comments that hurt the sentiments of an entire state, have the potential of flaring up violence and need to be checked urgently… The commission strongly recommends registration of a FIR in both the matters without considering the issue of territorial jurisdiction”, it reads.
