Are anti-women comments made with an eye on votebank politics?

KOLKATA: In April 2011, when former Arambagh CPM MP Anil Basu had likened Mamata Banerjee to a Sonagachi sex-worker, he was accused of displaying misogynist contempt for women.
Left leader Subhas Chakraborty had ridiculed Mamata’s Maa-Mati-Manush slogan saying: “She is an infertile woman; what does she know about Maa?” Anil Biswas had dubbed her “jomero aruchi” (even the devil wouldn’t touch her).Basu has been expelled from the party. Biswas and Chakraborty are no more. But political rhetoric hasn’t changed much for many politicians. If women have to be attacked – be it political opponents or Jadavpur University (JU) students – character assassination is still a favourite with our political leaders. That includes Trinamool leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah’s tirade against Roopa Ganguly as well as BJP state president Dilip Ghosh’s statement on the ‘shameless’ JU girls.
Educationist Pabitra Sarkar believes that such statements are made by fringe elements across party lines. “Education doesn’t mean literacy. It’s unfortunate that we have to see such times when women are so often being made such soft targets. There is a deep-rooted desperation among some who believe that unless such statements are made, they can’t hog the limelight,” Sarkar explains.
According to former JU professor and author Navaneeta Dev Sen, such an attitude has always been prevalent among members of CPM, Trinamool and BJP. “Humiliation of women has become a tradition among parties in power. Now parties not in power are also doing it. Even during war, it’s always women who had to face the anger of soldiers. When politicians make such statements, they are victimising the idea of womanhood,” Dev Sen says.
Actor and BJP’s Mayureswar candidate Locket Chatterjee has spoken out against Ghosh’s statement. “Even if I am to accept that Dilip-da knows more about Jadavpur than I do, I still don’t support what he said. We live in a male-dominated society. Women, whether we like it or not, still have to rely on men to give us respect. So, men need to react to such a misogynist statements,” Chatterjee says, arguing that a woman’s ‘character’ and her ‘choice of association’ can’t be an issue that should be used to settled political scores. Director Vivek Agnihotri of ‘Buddha In A Traffic Jam’ also condemns Ghosh. “It’s a regressive statement. I condemn it in the harshest terms,” Agnihotri says.
Sometimes, such statements are also made with an eye on the votebank. “Some of their supporters are male chauvinists. Hence, they are sure that such statements will make these supporters happy,” Sarkar says. Dev Sen adds that such politicians know that “only women and a handful of aware and educated men will be upset”. “The rest will applaud them for saying so. We can’t change our leaders but it is important that a conscious effort be made to change the way our men at home think. Men should be made aware that such things can be said about women. They need to understand that it is also insulting for them if women in their family get insulted this way. Only if this happens will political leaders change such behaviour,” Dev Sen says.
Trinamool leader Bratya Basu recalls how Anil Basu had made very derogatory remarks against Mamata Banerjee. “I had condemned Rezzak Mollah’s remarks. I condemn Dilip Ghosh’s comments too. Patriarchy is responsible for this attitude,” Basu says. He admits that situation should have changed over the years. “But unfortunately, it hasn't,” Basu adds.
Director Aniket Chattopadhyay blames feudalism for such behaviour. “Women get dominated in a feudal structure. But progress has also given rise to a compromised structure of capitalism. Caught in between are most politicians who can’t shed off their misogynist contempt for women,” Chattopadhyay says. According to Chattopadhyay, front liners of right wing parties are prone to making such comments “because of their ideology is rooted in feudalism”. “One finds instances of such statements among the Left parties too. But it is more to do with second rung of leaders,” Chattopadhyay says.