From Hillary to Mayawati, why can't society deal with strong women in politics?

Under-fire for the violence in Una, Gujarat, the BJP was left further red-faced when their UP Vice-President Dayashanker Singh compared her to a prostitute. Singh’s remarks drew enormous flak in Parliament where the BJP was already dealing with accusations of being anti-Dalit after the atrocities in Una. Dayashanker tried to sidle out of trouble by claiming that it was a slip of the tongue, but he was shown the door by BJP, suspended for six years, as BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya announced that ‘such language has no place in the party’.

Sadly, it’s not a malice that’s exclusive to either the BJP, or Indian politics or even world politics. It doesn't matter whether you're an Ivy league educated woman or a former TV actress, if you're a woman, you will be subjected to attacks that your male counterparts will never face. 

From world leaders like Tsai Ing-wen, Theresa May and Hillary Clinton to Mayawati, Smriti Irani and Indira Gandhi, every biologically female politician worth her salt has faced attacks about her looks, character, dressing style, personality, relationship status or umpteen other characteristics that are hardly ever used to judge male politicians.

Women who refuse to be bogged down by the roles that a patriarchal society has designated for women – daughter, sister, wife or mother – are more often than not subjected to these attacks. Taiwan president Tai Ing-wen’s leadership style was questioned in China because she was a single woman. UK PM Theresa May’s opponent Andrea Leadsom suggested she’d be a better choice for PM since she was a mother while the March budget session in UK was most-talked about for a cleavage-revealing outfit Theresa May wore to Parliament.

Hillary Clinton has been subjected to every imaginable slur which would never be used to attack rivals Sanders or Trump. She was too loud, she was too soft, she was too female. The RNC convention was a collection of sexist rants against Hillary, including blaming her for her husband’s transgressions. Signs read stuff like ‘Trump that Bitch’, ‘Hillary sucks but not like Monica’ or ‘KFC Hillary Special – 2 FAT Thighs, 2 small breasts… left wing’.  

Source: Twitter 

Source: Twitter 

Her main opponent Trump has almost always sung the same tune, once even retweeting: “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?” Though he deleted the tweet, Trump, a symbol of unrestrained id playing to a waiting public knows that this sort of attack really popularised him with his basic demographic of men who just can’t wrap their head around the idea of a woman in power.

The really sad bit is that even women participate in these attacks against their fellow women. Shania NC once wondered whether Mayawati was 'a he or a she', and even Mayawati replied with a misogynist comment against Dayashanker Singh's misogyny, following the same silent rules set by patriarchy. "His (Singh's) remarks apply for his sister and daughter and not for me. The whole country will not forgive BJP... people will come on the streets."

Even Mayawati’s party workers abused Dayashankar Singh’s wife and minor daughter. Swati Singh told ANI: “My daughter is in trauma. Even in school, the other kids pointed out to her the controversy. She is so disturbed that she is not leaving the house. They have dragged my daughter into politics. Why is it that those who are walking around offering 50 lakh rupees as reward for my husband’s tongue not being condemned’ Where are the women activists now. She put the question to Mayawati is she would take responsibility if something happened to her or her daughter.”

Replying to the incident Mayawati told ANI: “Our party supporters wouldn't have used the abuses they used against his (Dayashankar) daughter but they (BSP workers) were hurt as slur were used against their leader, who is also someone’s sister and daughter.” 

That Mayawati would turn it back to demean the honour of other women, even those related to her is reminiscent of a term called Maa-Behen Feminism (mother-sister feminism), where a woman’s worth is still linked to her male relatives. Eve-teasers or stalkers are often inundated with the question: “Ghar mein maa-bhen nahin hai?” (Don’t you have mothers or sisters at home?), as if remembering his own female relatives (and imagining them undergoing the same horror), was the best way to hinder rapists as opposed to the notion that a woman’s body is her own property. Mayawati hitting back in the same terms just shows how deep-set these notions of honour are in our patriarchal psyche.

Despite the calendar year reading 2016, a huge chunk of the population, male or female, has not come to terms with a woman in power. Power it seemed was something that was the exclusive domain of the cis-man. In days gone by, he fought wars for it and his rewards were glory and riches, which would also include women as reward.

But with more women demanding their place in every sphere of life, men-only clubs are becoming a thing of the past. However, men are still learning to deal with women on equal terms. Women are either praised for behaving like men (Indira Gandhi was often called the ‘only man in her cabinet’, as if bravery and fortitude is synonymous with masculinity) or they are asked to go back to their pre-ordained rules under patriarchy. 

Thankfully, joyously in fact, the onward march of civilisation sees a greater equality, where a person is judged more and more on the basis of their skill set as opposed to their biological gender. While at one point it looked like two of the biggest democracies in the world, would be run by Boris Johnson and Donald Trump, we could instead have Theresa May and Hillary Clinton in charge.

And our patriarchal society will simply have to get used to the idea of strong woman leaders. To paraphrase Bob Dylan: “Come mothers and fathers, Throughout the land. And don't criticize. What you can't understand. Your daughters.  Are beyond your command.  Your old road is. Rapidly aging'. Please get out of the new one. If you can't lend your hand. For the times they are a-changin'.