Maneka wants hostel curfew for girls, comes under attack

New Delhi: Days after Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi announced launching an app to take those to task who trolled women, she fell prey to social media users for favouring “curfew” for “hormonally challenged” girls.

Calling her statement “regressive”, Twitterati expressed shock over the statement that came just ahead of International Women’s Day. In an interview to a news channel, Ms Gandhi had stated, “As a parent who’s sending a daughter to a college - or a son - I would expect her and him to be protected. And perhaps one of the protections is against themselves. When you are 16 or 17 you are also hormonally very challenged. So to protect you from your own hormonal outbursts, perhaps a lakshman rekha is drawn. It really is for your own safety,” she said, while responding to why girls hostels should have an early curfew and not boys?”

While the ministry officials claimed that the statement had been blown out of proportion, she was criticised for her statement on social media.

“Are we living in Vedic times? If a minister herself thinks like this we don’t need men in country to order fatwas,” said NSUI chief Amrita Dhawan.

She also received flak for her comments about “Biharis”. In reply to a question on why can’t security be strengthened instead of imposing curfews, she had said, “No, not by two Bihari gentlemen at gate with dandas (sticks). Twitter users hit out at her for “regionalism” and for “stereotyping Biharis as guards”.