They condemned the gender remarks made by Shaina NC against Mayawati.
Netizens have demanded for action to be taken against BJP spokesperson Shaina NC who had questioned about Mayawati’s gender two years ago. Shaina had said that she is confused whether Mayawati is ‘he’ or ‘she’. According to them, if BJP has expelled Dayashankar Singh vice-president of party’s Uttar Pradesh unit for calling Maya-wati as a prostitute then why the party has failed to take any action against Shaina who had passed unwarranted comments against Mayawati. Shaina had made the remarks against Mayawati while participating in Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) event at Jaipur. Social activists had then condemned Shaina NC’s comment against Mayawati, saying her statement is anti-women and shameful.
Sameer Wadekar, a Kandivali resident said, “The comments made by Shaina against Maya-wati are condemnable. Today women are doing well in all fields and many of them have made a name for themselves.”
Archit Seth, a Borivali resident said, “Mayawati is considered as mass leader and she is respected by the residents of Uttar Pradesh and other states. Therefore Shaina should not have commented about her gender.”
Sujit Kumar, a BPO emplo-yee said, “Often, we are taught to respect women but today they being disrespected by some people. Shaina could have spoken about what steps had Mayawati taken to improve governance when she was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh instead of passing comments about her gender.”
“This is deeply misogynistic and anti-women statement because it actually implies that a woman who is powerful, a woman who heads her own party, a woman who doesn’t wear ‘sarees or binidis’ or walks and talks in a way that doesn’t confirm to gender stereotypes is somehow not womanly enough,” said All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) Secretary Kavita Krishnan.
“This is a deeply condemnable statement, it’s shocking that someone who is a spokesperson of a ruling establishment, of the ruling party in this country and a woman herself is giving such statements. This kind of statement is specially ridiculous and shocking,” she added.
Meanwhile, National Federation of Indian Women general secretary Annie Raja said, “Shaina needs to talk about Mayawati’s political work not about her gender. Making such statement is insulting, unnecessary.”
However, Shaina on Wednesday tweeted, “A society that does not respect and take care of its #women cannot progress and prosper. May the feminine blossom around the world.”
On the other hand, Shaina NC defended herself and said, “Comments made by me was misquoted. I appreciate the manner in which she had overcome every obstacle. She is an able administrator and takes effective decisions. She is a strong leader and single handedly manages every challenges faced by her party. Therefore, I had questioned whether Mayawati is ‘She’ or ‘he’.”
