I'm starting a thread of everyday misogyny from Indian parliamentarians. This will record people from all political parties. Feel free to send me links. So tempted to call it #parliaMENtary but I know gender is not going to define misogyny. Looking for better hashtags.

Have decided on #PatriaMent thanks to @sar_ku! Lots lined up & the narrative arc often follows a trajectory where politicians call opinionated women commercial sex workers, I need to state here that sex work is work, and this thread to not meant to demean a profession.

Before somebody tries to discuss morality and sex work with me. I do have issues with forced labour, lack of rights, unionisation etc around sex work. #PatriaMent

Also, There will be inhumane (& illegal) statements discussing caste, ability, colour etc. I don't condone them and this thread is meant to capture the comments made by elected officials. If there are ways that I can better express these thoughts let me know :) #PatriaMent

1. May 5, 2020: Gopal Parmar (BJP MLA from Madhya Pradesh) states that disallowing child marriage is one of the causes of hindu's marrying muslims or 'Love Jihad' and of divorce. He suggests that marriages be arranged in childhood. #PatriaMent

2. March 12, 2018: Naresh Agarwal (SP and BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh) called Jaya Bachchan a 'Naachnewali' (lit translation - dancer) which implies a commercial sex worker. He has also victim blamed rape survivors by insisting they pay attention to their clothes. #PatriaMent

3. Nov 24, 2015: Om Prakash Sharma (BJP MLA from Delhi) tried to shut down Alka Lamba (then AAP MLA Delhi) by calling her a "raat bhar ghumne wali" (lit translation- a woman who goes out at night) which implied she was a commercial sex worker. #PatriaMent

4. Dec 11 2019: Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice President of India, stopped women from speaking during Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 stating "In my opinion, women don’t need firearms, others will protect you." He then "allowed" one female MP to speak. #PatriamMent Thanks
@AnnoyedSingh!

5. Mar 28, 2019: Nanjil Sampath (DMK) is reported saying that he was unsure if Kiran Bedi was a man or a woman and that Bedi had been sent to Pondicherry after being 'castrated' in Delhi. #PatriaMent

6. Jan, 2019: K Sudhakaran (INC MP from Kerala) was reported stating that Pinarayi Vijayan was 'worse than a woman' in undertaking his role as Chief Minister of Kerala. #PatriaMent

7. Jan 2019: Sadhana Singh (BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh) was reportedly called Mayawati 'worse than an eunuch'. #PatriaMent

8. June 2014: Ram Sewak Paikra (former BJP MLA from Chhattisgarh and Home Minister of State) was reportedly stated that men did not willfully rape but that rape, essentially, occurred inadvertently. #PatriaMent

9. Jan 2017: Abu Azmi (SP MLA from Maharashtra) stated that blindly following western culture and wearing 'half dress' results in sexual harassment and that women 'and their guardians' should think about the safety of women. #PatriaMent

10. Jan 2017: Abhijit Mukherjee (INC MP from West Bengal) referred to women, who were protesting the fact that women were molested while celebrating the new year in Bangalore, were 'painted and dented' and had no connection to the real world. #PatriaMent

11. July 2014: Vinay Bihari (BJP MLA from Bihar) reportedly stated that eating meat produced a desire to molest and rape. He believed that the key to reducing assault in India was a mass conversion to vegetarianism to ensure that everyone had healthy and pure minds. #PatriaMent

12. undated 2015: Tejasvi Surya (BJP MP from Karnataka) tweeted "95% Arab women have never had an orgasm in the last few hundred years! Every mother has produced kids as act of sex and not love." He attributed the source to Tarek Fatah. #PatriaMent thanks @rosammat

13. June 2017: Kuldeep Sengar (BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh) raped a child. #PatriaMent

14. March 2019: This is a difficult one's to capture because Surendra Singh (BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh) didn't say anything directly but in a few sentences implied that Rahul Gandhi should take ownership (i.e. marry) of new INC entrant Sapna Choudhury because #PatriaMent

15. March 2019: Surendra Singh (BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh) believed Choudhury and Rahul Gandhi's mother, Sonia Gandhi, 'Italy mein isi peshe se' (Lit. translation - of the same occupation) were women who danced for money (thus immoral, thus commercial sex workers.) #PatriaMent

16. Oct 2019: Surendra Singh (BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh) decided to add casteist dogwhistles to his repertoire. He allegedly stated that (3 time Uttar Pradesh CM) Mayawati would never be CM again in this life time and would need to 'take another birth'. #PatriaMent

17. Jan 2020: Surendra Singh (BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh) the gift that keeps spewing violence allegedly stated that TMC president & WB CM Mamata Banerjee was a demon and that she had no characteristics of a women for standing up for the rights of Muslims in India. #PatriaMent

18. June 2020: Mullappally Ramachandran (ex INC MP from Kerala) stated that Health Minister KK Shailaja's work on Covid19 containment in the state was self aggrandising ('Covid Rani') rather than her completing her duties professionally. #Patriament

19. Oct 2020: repeat offender Surendra Singh (BJP MLA UP) speaking in the context of #hathras put the onus of preventing rape on women when discussing the role of law and governance in the state - "Parents should ensure to instill good values in their young daughters" #Patriament

20. Jan 2021: Sajjan Singh Verma (INC MLA MP) said it was unnecessary to raise the min age to 21 for marriage for women (which is the current min age for men) because women can give birth by 15. I wonder if his imagination of women starts and stops with procreation. #patriament