Indian PM applauds Bangladeshi counterpart for fighting terrorism “despite being a woman” - Women's Agenda

Indian PM applauds Bangladeshi counterpart for fighting terrorism “despite being a woman”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sparked outrage on social media after saying the Bangladeshi Prime Minister has managed to fight terrorism “despite the fact that she is a woman”.

The woman in question, Sheikh Hasina, has been the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since 2009 after a political career spanning over four decades. Despite her decorated political achievements, the Indian Prime Minister appeared surprised that she has managed to tackle terrorism in the region.

“It is heartening that Prime Minister of Bangladesh, despite the fact that she is a woman, is openly saying that she has zero tolerance for terrorism. I would like to congratulate Sheikh Hasina for her firmness to deal with the menace,” he said in an address to Dhaka University on Sunday.

The Prime Minister was referring to terrorists targeting Bangaldesh from the Pakistani border, and apparently intended the comment as a compliment. The audience – and the social media community – did not take it as such.

The comment immediately sparked outrage on Twitter, with one user suggesting the hashtag #DespiteBeingAWoman to draw attention to the Prime Minister’s characterisation of womanhood as some kind of handicap. By Monday, the hashtag was among the top trending topics on Twitter.

Users around the world took to the hashtag to express their disgust at the sexist comment, and some used it to make sarcastic remarks about various achievements that have been made in spite of womanhood.

“Cornelia Sorabji, in 1889 became first woman to read law at Oxford University #DespiteBeingAWoman,” one user quipped.

“Managed to unlock my phone #DespiteBeingAWoman,” wrote another.

Some users chose simply to post images of leading women – Malala Yousafzai, Indira Ghandi and Rosa Parks, among others – alongside the hashtag #DespiteBeingAWoman.

While many commentators interpreted the comment as being a general denigration of women’s capabilities, others took it to be an insinuation that women are largely tolerant of terrorism, and the Bangladeshi Prime Minister is a notable exception.

“So is the PM trying to say we women are generally tolerant of terrorism?” one Twitter user asked.

Several other politicians from Modi’s party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, have been criticised in the past for sexist language. But Modi himself has tried hard to paint himself as an exception to this rule since coming to power – he has positioned himself as a champion of women’s issues and has spoken out against sexual assault and violence against women. But since Sunday’s gaffe, many social media users are expressing their dismay that his worldview may be more similar to his political colleagues than he lets on.

 What have you achieved #DespiteBeingAWoman?

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