Indian women who assert themselves are facing a backlash from conservative, reactionary forces who have the full backing of the BJP-led Indian State, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat has said. She was delivering the Ashis Sen memorial lecture at the 10th National Conference of the Bank Employees’ Federation of India (BEFI) here on Wednesday.
“This backlash is not a spontaneous thing. It is backed by political and social forces who believe that women’s place is determined by traditions sanctioned by religious texts. They promote a culture in which women must subordinate themselves to patriarchy. These are not fringe elements. They are the centre of governance today in the form of the BJP government,” she said.
On triple talaq verdict
Ms. Karat said the assault on women’s equality should also be seen as an assault on the Constitution. “In Kerala, after the SC judgment on Sabarimala, right wing forces came together to push society backwards. Whenever there is a movement for social change, there is an opposition in the name of religion. It applies to all religions,” she said. The Modi government had utilised the SC verdict on triple talaq not to support Muslim women, but to punish Muslim men for desertion. “If desertion is to be criminalised, why do it for only one community? They are interested in a toxic agenda of demonising a community. We know who the greatest deserter of his own wife is,” she said.
