Mahua Moitra Is A Formidable Woman, NOT A ‘Man’ For Her Fiery Stance In The Lok Sabha!

Politician Mahua Moitra’s fiery speech in the Lok Sabha garnered a lot of attention, which included misogynistic tweets too, like one that referred to her as “one of the few ‘men’ in Lok Sabha”.

On Monday, TMC politician Mahua Moitra, known for taking powerful stances, once again delivered a fearless and passionate speech in the Lok Sabha, holding the Central Government accountable on various issues.

Among other things, she rightly pointed out that a former CJI, accused of sexual harassment, presided over his own trial, cleared himself of all allegations, and accepted a nomination to the Rajya Sabha. Her comments caused a lot of uproar in the Lok Sabha.

The sacred cow that was the judiciary is no longer sacred. It stopped being sacred day a sitting CJI was accused of sexual harassment, presided over own trial, cleared himself & accepted a nomination to Upper House within 3 months of retirement replete with Z+ security cover pic.twitter.com/ODFn2pd2Z1

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) February 9, 2021

Misogyny disguised as praise

While many took the opportunity to slander her, many appreciated her for taking a powerful stance in the Lok Sabha against the ruling government. Only Mahua, among many opposition politicians, showed the courage to openly call out the ruling party on pressing issues.

While some tweets praised her for showing courage and resilience, they still seemed to be misogynistic.

#MahuaMoitra is just one of only a few 'men' in Lok Sabha. She is
46 years old
an MP from Krishnanagar, WB
Served as MLA for 3 yrs
Studied @ Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts
Worked with JPMorgan Chase in NYC
1st joined Congress, then TMC
She rightly called media as "2 paisa" pic.twitter.com/aS61PMZecm

— India Muslim History (@syedurahman) February 9, 2021

By calling her, one of the few ‘men’ in Lok Sabha, not only is the ingrained misogyny being highlighted but the deep rooted regressive belief that only men can be ‘strong, brave and courageous’ is evident as well.

Misogyny called out

Some quote tweets highlighted the patriarchal mindset evident in this tweet.

Journalist Tanushree Pandey highlighted how problematic this tweet is.

Sorry @zoo_bear, @AltNews, but I'm doing it this time.
Fact Check – @MahuaMoitra is not a man or one of the "few men". She's a WOMAN. One of the many strong women this country has.

Aadat daalo ek strong, courageous, outspoken aurat ko aurat kehne ka. https://t.co/EMG0BxZ2az

— Tanushree Pandey (@TanushreePande) February 10, 2021

Deepal Trivedi, editor at Outlook very pertinently asked, “Why lower her stature and identity by comparing her with a man?”

Why lower her stature and identity by comparing her with a man?#MahuaMoitra can be a woman and still be bright. Right? https://t.co/zFbVHqsTzO

— Deepal.‏‎‎Trivedi (@DeepalTrevedie) February 10, 2021

Author and Journalist Anna MM Vetticad highlighted the patriarchal and regressive aspects of the tweet as well.

https://twitter.com/annavetticad/status/1359460145755918336

And journalist Rohini Singh rightly calls this comment the “usual patriarchal rubbish”.

So basically what this handle is saying is that being a ‘man’ is a sign of courage because women are these weak, pathetic creatures. Usual patriarchal rubbish. https://t.co/mdin3b6dfA

— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) February 10, 2021

“Ye humari beti nahi, beta hai” and other sexist phrases we use

Knowingly or unknowingly, we use certain phrases or idioms in our daily lives that are misogynistic and stereotypical.

Phrases like ‘man up’ , ‘to wear pants in the relationship’ and Hindi expressions like “Ye humari beti nahi, beta hai” (she is not just our daughter; she’s our son) further advance the patriarchal mindset and stereotypes which associate adjectives like – dominance, bravery and courage only with men.

These phrases maintain that being compared to a man is a supreme compliment and the ‘ultimate’ standard for a woman.

Why can’t women’s achievement be celebrated without inserting men in the mix?

The need to add men in the quotient when the focus should entirely be on a woman has become a recurring trend in Indian culture and elsewhere. Due to this regressive mindset, which has a habit of downplaying women’s SOLE achievement, misogyny doesn’t seem to go away anywhere.

In another instance, Indian cricketer and captain Mithali Raj shut down a sexist question when asked, “Who is your favourite male cricketer?” to which she replied, “Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer?”

The answer remains no because men are considered the default, their achievements are credited as their own, while women can’t be lauded without adding a man in the quotient.

Image source: YouTube

Aditi Singh Kaushik

History, politics and pop culture enthusiast.

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