#DespiteBeingAWoman trends on Twitter, Narendra Modi draws flak for remark
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the top trend on Twitter all day on Monday, for all the wrong reasons.
PM Modi drew flak on social media for a ‘sexist’ remark during his high-profile visit to Bangladesh.
The hashtag #DespiteBeingAWoman was on top of the India trends on Twitter, for his comment in Dhaka while addressing the Indian community on Sunday.
Modi had said, “It is heartening that Prime Minister of Bangladesh despite the fact that she is a woman is openly saying that she has zero tolerance for terrorism.”
“I would like to congratulate Sheikh Hasina for her firmness to deal with the menace,” he added.
The comment was meant to praise Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, however, sparked a flurry of sarcastic comments, jokes and pictures of successful Indian women on social media.
Political rivals capitalised on the opportunity and spew venom at Narendra Modi.
Modi was in Dhaka for two days, during which he signed the critical Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh.
But since storming to power in May last year, Modi has sought to position himself as a champion of women's rights, emphasising the importance of toilets for poor and vulnerable women, education for girls and the ending of female foeticide in India.
In his first Independence Day speech last August, he addressed the issue of rising sexual assaults on women and called on parents to raise their sons better.
Here is a compilation of some of the tweets with the hashtag #DespiteBeingAWoman:
Why are bhakts blaming the media for Modi's #DespiteBeingAWoman comment? #ModiEmpowersWomen NOT
— Fish & Chips (@abasithhasan) June 8, 2015Pseudo Lib Seculars, Male Terrorists all against Indian PM applauding an Asian Muslim Women against Terror #DespiteBeingAWoman
— Rahul Easwar (@RahulEaswar) June 8, 2015#DespiteBeingAWoman PM's statement reflects a mindset that is parochial, condescending towards women with typical gender stereotypes.
— Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) June 8, 2015I'm not afraid of coat hangers #DespiteBeingAWoman
— Neeti Palta (@neetipalta) June 8, 2015Ladies troll wing of the BhaJaPa missing today, looks like they took the PM's #DespiteBeingAWoman comment to heart. #trollbait
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) June 8, 2015#DespiteBeingAWoman Kiran Bedi managed to sink the BJP in Delhi
— Abhinandan Sekhri (@AbhinandanSekhr) June 8, 2015Baba Ramdev was arrested #DespiteBeingAWoman ..Urggh or at least pretending to be one? The women power! :-) pic.twitter.com/Zmmv6xIEeQ
— Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) June 8, 2015In no other country,would a man who had openly lied on his marital status for years, deliberately,would have become PM. #DespiteBeingAWoman
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) June 8, 2015At core, RSS/BJP are misogynistic, bigoted, chauvinistic and sexist. Narendra Modi is just another manifestation of it. #DespiteBeingAWoman
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) June 8, 2015