Archive · 5 Aug 2026
No Escaping Male Gaze Even in Lok Sabha
In India, grown-up leaders sometimes say mean things about women to look tough or funny.
One leader made a joke about his state's Chief Minister and an actress to make the Chief Minister seem weak.
This kind of unkind talk happens even in the Lok Sabha, where the country's leaders meet.
Many famous women leaders, like Indira Gandhi and Jayalalithaa, have been insulted just because they are women.
Some leaders blame girls for bad things done to them, which is unfair and called 'blaming the victim.'
A few leaders pretend to help women but still treat them like they are not equal.
Women's votes are changing some of this behaviour, because leaders know women matter.
Now India wants to set aside one-third of Lok Sabha seats for women.
The writer wonders whether the men there are ready to treat women fairly.
She hopes they can learn to be kind and respectful to everyone.
Tamil Nadu opposition leader Udhaynidhi Stalin made a gender-insensitive joke alluding to a rumoured relationship between Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and actor Trisha, implying the CM was under feminine control.
Women politicians including Mayawati, Smriti Irani, Jaya Prada, Hema Malini, Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Gandhi have been targets of gendered attacks by politicians from rival parties.
The article cites J. Jayalalithaa's physical assault in the Assembly and the 'goongi gudiya' (dumb doll) jibe against Indira Gandhi as classic examples of gendered insults.
Politicians have shown victim-blaming attitudes, such as Congress MP Botsa Satyanarayana saying women could not venture out after dark simply because India gained freedom at midnight.
The commentary contrasts Mahatma Gandhi's moral masculinity with today's 'strongman' politics and questions Parliament's readiness for one-third of seats reserved for women.
- Who
- Politicians across parties including Congress, the BJP and the Samajwadi Party - such as Udhaynidhi Stalin, Sanjay Nirupam, Randeep Surjewala, Mohammad Azam Khan, Botsa Satyanarayana, Abhijit Mukherjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav - and targeted women leaders including Mayawati, Smriti Irani, Jaya Prada, Hema Malini, Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Gandhi, J. Jayalalithaa, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
- What
- An opinion commentary analysing how the 'male gaze' and sexist political attacks undermine women leaders, normalise victim-blaming and shape Indian political culture.
- When
- Undated commentary; cites incidents from the 2012 Delhi rape case era to recent remarks, ahead of a proposed one-third women's reservation in Parliament.
- Where
- India, including the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies and Delhi.
- Why
- Politicians deploy gendered insults and victim-blaming to project aggressive masculinity and undermine the credibility of women leaders in a patriarchal society.
- Key recent incident
- Udhaynidhi Stalin's joke about Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and actor Trisha
- Targets of gendered attacks
- Mayawati, Smriti Irani, Jaya Prada, Hema Malini, Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Gandhi
- Historical examples
- Jayalalithaa's Assembly assault, 'goongi gudiya' jibe at Indira Gandhi, racist remarks against Sonia Gandhi
- Victim-blaming cited
- Congress MPs' remarks after the 2012 Delhi rape case
- 'Feminism lite' example
- Term coined by author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; e.g., PM Narendra Modi congratulating his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina 'despite' her gender
- Parties involved
- Congress, BJP and Samajwadi Party politicians cited in examples
- Women's reservation
- One-third of Lok Sabha seats reserved for women
- Author
- Bhavdeep Kang, senior journalist with 35 years of experience