'Rationalising female infanticide': Congress' Jitu Patwari panned for misogynist remark on sons and daughters

'Rationalising female infanticide': Congress' Jitu Patwari panned for misogynist remark on sons and daughters

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Wednesday, June 24, 2020, 05:49 PM IST
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Jitu Patwari | Photo: ANI

In a democracy, it is acceptable to criticise or question decisions -- within reason of course. However, it would seem that not everyone is aware of the fine line that divides mere criticism from becoming offensive.

Women have not always found themselves on an equal footing with their male counterparts in India. Even today, there appears to be a preference for male children -- something Congress leader Jitu Patwari took upon himself to highlight. In a bid to criticise the BJP government, he decided to compare government initiatives such as demonetisation and GST to girls that had been born in a bid to get a son named 'Vikas'.

The five 'daughters' as named by him are notebandi, GST, mahangai, berojgari and mandi.

Needless to say, the comment is now being panned for its somewhat crude and unnecessary nature. And while some social media users tried to intervene and explain what he had meant, the rest were not having it.

"His tweet was not regarding the female child birth. His tweet was meant for people who keeps trying for boy but each time they give birth to a girl," wrote one Twitter user, completely missing the reason behind the social media backlash.

As mentioned earlier in this article, there is a stigma attached to women and the girl child. And while this may not be a pan-India problem that affects every single individual, the casual acceptance of the problem by a legislator is rather problematic. For those who are unaware, Patwari is an MLA from Rau Vidhan Sabha in Madhya Pradesh.

As one Twitter user summed it up, "Problem is in our country sons are seen as progress while daughters as synonymous with regression , setbacks — @jitupatwari tweet just endorses this thought and belief". In essence, what his comment does is, acknowledge the wish for a male child, establish its superiority and desirability and then normalise it.

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