KOZHIKODE: When LDF candidate U Prathibha was recently forced to respond to a UDF leader’s sexually derogatory remark during her Kayamkulam campaign, the moment cut sharply through the usual buzz of electioneering.
It was not just a rebuttal. It was a confrontation with a kind of politics that deviates from political issues and trespasses into personal space. What followed was not confined to one candidate or one constituency.
Similar accounts began surfacing — of women candidates navigating coordinated online abuse, public insults, and persistent attempts to undermine their credibility through character attacks rather than political critique. Taken together, these incidents reveal a pattern that many women leaders say has long existed but is now unfolding more visibly: women are still being made to fight battles their male counterparts are rarely asked to face.
“Reducing a woman to her body is wrong,” Prathibha said. “Elections are about the heart and commitment of a candidate, not their physicality. In all my years in politics, I have never engaged in personal attacks. What we are seeing now is an attempt to destroy dignity instead of debating politics.”
According to Fathima Thahiliya, UDF candidate from Perambra, this pattern repeats. Her social media pages have been flooded with derogatory and sexually coloured comments since her candidature was announced.
“I am not afraid of cyber attacks,” she told TNIE. “I entered politics prepared for challenges, and I will face them. I cannot be shamed into silence, because I have nothing to be ashamed of.”
CPIM leader K K Shailaja, who is contesting in Peravoor, said the incidents reflect a deeper issue. “When they cannot question a woman’s work, they attack her personally. This is something many of us have experienced,” she said. She also condemned the remarks made in Kayamkulam.
“This statement is yet another example of the anti-women attitude within the UDF,” she said. “This is not unfamiliar to us. During the Vadakara Lok Sabha election, I personally witnessed how, when political disagreements involve women, the response often descends into degrading and abusive language. What is deeply concerning is the hypocrisy — leaders who publicly claim to ‘stand with women’ take a contradictory stance when such behaviour emerges from within their own ranks.”
She said if parties believe they can win votes through personal attacks instead of addressing development and people’s issues, “the self-respecting women of Kerala will give a strong reply”. BJP leader Shobha Surendran, who is contesting in Palakkad, highlighted an unhealthy contrast: “Men are criticised for policies. Women are attacked for their character. That must change,” she said.
Youth leaders also raised concerns over inconsistent responses. “Condemning one incident while ignoring another is not standing for women,” said a Muslim League Haritha leader. Analysts believe gender-based attacks are becoming increasingly visible, especially in digital spaces. Women candidates report organised trolling, cyber harassment, slut-shaming, defamatory campaigns, and personal attacks.
During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Vadakara, Shailaja was subjected to a sustained online smear campaign driven by misogynistic narratives and personal attacks.
Thahiliya had faced cyber harassment during the local body polls, too, when she contested from Kuttichira ward of Kozhikode corporation. Just two days after the local body polls results, CPM leader Syed Ali Majeed sparked outrage during a victory gathering in Malappuram by accusing the League of “displaying women to win votes”.
In 2023, BJP state president K Surendran faced legal action for body shaming women CPM leaders. Following a complaint by CPM leader C S Sujatha, police registered a case for derogatory comments and insulting the dignity of women.
These examples underscore all political fronts are united when it comes to the need for some basic lessons on respecting women in political discourse.