BENGALURU: A day after Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar put his foot in his mouth with a statement on modern Indian women wanting to stay single, unwilling to give birth even after marriage and considering surrogacy, he issued a clarification on Monday, saying that he had no intention of singling out women. But the statement failed to cool tempers.
“His statement is not based on any facts and is made to show women in poor light. It is a reflection of how women’s reproductive rights are barely respected. Women are constantly policed about their bodies and the choices they make,” said Nisha Gulur, president, Swaraj India Bengaluru Urban District Unit.
Sudhakar stated in his clarification that he had intended to send across a message as to how the Indian family value system can address mental health issues. “It is unfortunate that a small part of my statement in the 19-and-a-half minute speech was taken out of context, thereby losing the larger point … I’m a proud father of a daughter and a medical doctor by training. I fully understand the sensitivities around women and also mental health issues that are concerning us,” he added.
A day later, Sudhakar quotes survey to back his point
Sudhakar said that his statement on the younger generation shying away from marriage and reproduction was based on findings of YouGov-Mint-CPR-Millenial Survey, which shows 19 per cent were not interested in marriage or having children.
“Another 8 per cent want children, but not marriage. Among post-millennials, 23 per cent aren’t interested in children. There are very little gender-wise differences in these trends. It is applicable to both boys and gi rl s, ” he added. But the clarification did not soothe tempers.
Swaraj India issued a statement strongly condemning Sudhakar’s statement and demanded an immediate public apology from him. Gulur said, “When politicians give voice to the ugliest forms of misogyny, sexism, it is important to fight back so that the majority voice of the women is not silenced.” Congress termed Sudhakar’s statement “regressive”. “They make big promises about women empowerment, while this is what the actual mindset is. All masks come off eventually,” said state Congress president DK Shivakumar.