“Vote for BJP or you will get raped!” Women Activists Question Campaign Messages In An Open Letter to PM Modi. We’ve The Same Question
That Delhi is not safe for women is no news. In fact, the news that hits the headlines on the daily in this city is just about the different ways women keep getting subjected to violent hate and gender-based crimes and no, it doesn’t get better. If anything, it is getting worse, especially during such political turmoil in the country.
As the women took to the streets to show the kind of courage and strength even the men couldn’t, what with braving the cold weather and the cold acts of violence and cowardice, the women at Shaheen Bagh and the student protesters have stood their ground to carry on with peaceful protests. And at a time when you’d think the government even in disagreement would at least respect the right of these women and students and woke citizens to carry out peaceful protests and maintain their cordial dissent, we have those in power urging the country to fall to new lows to threaten these people – also, and it looks like they’ve forgotten – their vote bank. And in an attempt to gather votes, they will use any means, even if it means threatening the women with rape. Because what are ethics when you’ve a vote to win?
A tactic, that wasn’t recognised just by us, but by a hundred other women, as more than 170 women activists have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about how the city and those running it are promoting a toxic and violent culture for women and children, in the name of their political agendas.
Also Read : Where Is The Bravery In Shooting At Unarmed Women And Children At Shaheen Bagh? What Kind Of Nationalism Is This?
Expressing their disappointment and horror upon realising just how manipulative and destructive the BJP leaders have come to be in their poll rallies and campaigns, the women coming from several women’s group in Delhi have written to the PM discussing how the speeches being made by the BJP leaders are using “fear of rape as a campaign message” to drive and orchestrate an environment of hate crimes. Case in point, the three shootings at Jamia Milia and Shaheen Bagh in a span on 4 days.
The signatories for this letter included big and powerful names like economist Devaki Jain, activist Laila Tyabji, former Indian Ambassador Madhu Bhaduri, gender rights activist Kamla Bhasin, and women from the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW).
Quoting directly from the letter, it point blank questioned the system as it asked, “What is this kind of communal hate and fear-mongering that you, as a head of government, are encouraging, that seeks to make women of all communities feel more insecure and threatened? Vote for BJP or you will get raped! Is this your election message to Delhi’s women? Is this how low your party has sunk?”
Referring to the statements made by BJP leader Pravesh Verma where he has said, “Lakhs of people gather there (Shaheen Bagh). People of Delhi will have to think and take a decision. They’ll enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters, kill them,” the letter asked the prime minister if the BJP is now “openly endangering the lives of India’s women and children?” and also hinting at the comments made by Union minister Anurag Thakur where he said,”shoot the traitors”, or the time when UP’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued statements like, ‘Boli se nahi toh gali se maanenge’, the letter raised pretty pertinent issues.
The letter said, “We speak to you as women of this country, and the women of Delhi – Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Adivasi and Dalit – who are horrified at the atmosphere of violence against women that members of your party have created merely to try and win an election,” and we agreed with every bit of it. As if it was already not enough that the women were being subject to acts of violence on the daily, that now they have to move with visible targets on their backs with what seems like a go-ahead from such leaders.
It continued saying, “Lakhs of Delhi’s women are not just part of this movement, they are leading it. Empowered women are on the frontlines. We will not be silent when women are labelled terrorists and traitors, when all they are doing is fighting to protect and preserve the Constitution of our country.”
“You need to fight the Delhi election in a manner that upholds the dignity of our Constitution and ensures the security of India’s women,” it once again reminded the lawmakers and keepers. It is time such hate mongering stops and people realise that in an attempt to get into power, they don’t forget the ones who have the real power of putting them in their right place when the right time comes, and it will.
