PM’s Social Media Handles: What Women Do and DO NOT Need

Ahead of the International Women’s Day celebrated on March 8, Narendra Modi set social media abuzz by announcing that he will be “giving up” his social media handles. What followed was a massive social media reaction, with memes and jokes doing the rounds. It was later revealed that the prime minister will let inspiring women take over his social media accounts, seemingly, in a bid to motivate others.

The PM shared this news from his official account, inviting women to participate in the activity, and sharing their bids using #SheInspiresUs, as a few “lucky women” are being chosen to operate the PM’s social handles. While many feel that this is nothing more than a publicity gimmick and “token feminism” limited to the bubble of social media, others have a different wish-list for the prime minister to consider—which could actually lead to transformation of women’s lives.

‘Sack ministers with records of crimes against women’

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has the highest number of lawmakers (21) in Parliament facing cases related to crimes against women, followed by Congress (16) and YSRCP (7), according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The number of Lok Sabha MPs with cases related to crimes against women has increased from two in 2009 to 19 in 2019, it said. In the past five years, BJP gave tickets to 66 candidates facing cases of crimes against women to contest Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and state Assembly elections. The Congress fielded 46 such candidates and Bahujan Samaj Party 40.

The ADR and National Election Watch said that they analysed 4,822 out of 4,896 election affidavits of current MPs (759) and MLAs (4063). The number of Lok Sabha election candidates with cases of crimes against women went up from 38 to 126, with an increase of 231%.

On Friday, expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted for kidnapping and raping a minor in Unnao in 2017 and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Sengar has also been asked to pay a fine of Rs 25 lakh to the victim. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), too, had earlier sought life imprisonment for the ex-BJP MLA, saying it was a fight for justice of an individual against the system. Sengar’s case was one of the five related cases that were transferred from Uttar Pradesh to the national capital. The four other related cases are regarding—framing of the rape survivor's father in an illegal firearms case, his subsequent death in judicial custody, an alleged conspiracy by Sengar with others in an accident of the rape survivor and a separate case of her alleged gang rape by three others.

Even as Sengar was arrested in 2018 following the rape charges, not only did the senior BJP leaders keep their silence for a long time, but also—owing to his vote share and “popularity”—did not remove him from the party until August 2019.

In this context, not just maintaining men with criminal records in his party and the Cabinet, the PM Modi has also been accused of supporting trolls—who routinely abuse and harass women online—on social media.

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‘Stop enabling violent threats against women’

PM Modi has over 33 million followers on Twitter, and he follows a little over a thousand people. Of the ones he follows, many are government handles, ministers, heads of states, senior journalists, etc. However, other handful of profiles he follows include serial abusers, rumour mongers, misogynists, and those brimming with communal venom. An analysis of these social media handles by the fact-checking website Alt News shows that the prime minister follows a large number of men on Twitter who post sexist tweets/abuses directed at women. The attack is always personal and the targets are often journalists who are seen being critical of the government like Barkha Dutt, Rana Ayyub and Sagarika Ghose.

Speaking to NewsClick, Maimoona Mollah of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) said, “The prime minister, under the current circumstances, must not enable or allow any violence against women to be instigated. They [the BJP leaders] have allowed for this to happen, leading to adverse affects on the ground. When violent threats were issued, he failed to take stock.”

Recently, with the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act agitation across the country being led by women, multiple BJP ministers have been accused of making hate speeches, targeting these women. Their jibes include claims of women taking money to sit at the protest sites, women in burqas being terrorists and even statements from the likes of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who had said that “women are on the streets while their husbands sleep in the blankets”. Despite these instances and derogatory statements, the prime minister has maintained a deafening silence.

‘Give representation in the cabinet and pass the women’s reservation bill’

The swearing in of the Narendra Modi government 2.0 took place on May 30 with 58 ministers—only six of whom are women. There are no female representatives among the nine ministers of state (independent charge); out of the 24 ministers of state, only three are women. It’s, however, important to note that in the newly elected 17th Lok Sabha, with 78 elected women MPs, female representation is at 14.3%—the highest since Independence. The number was 62 in 2014.

But the lack of political will to give representation to women is also visible in the silence of the government when it comes to key policies such as the women’s reservation bill. The dispensation seems to have been afraid of the Women’s Reservation Bill, which guarantees 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. Because the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in March 2010, it will remain alive. This means that the Modi government, with a majority in the Lok Sabha (303 seats) can pass the pro-women-in-politics legislation in a heartbeat. Through its first tenure, the proposed law was one of the BJP’s promises in 2014 manifesto. But it has failed to set any timeline for its implementation.

‘Ensure better employment opportunities for women’

The Modi government has failed to ensure better employment opportunities for women. Speaking to NewsClick, Kavita Krishnan of the All India Progressive Women’s Association said, “At the policy level, the prime minister has failed women. From the disastrous policy of demonetisation, which adversely affected women, to the lack of maternity benefits and no recognition of women workers – the government fails women when it comes to their economic empowerment.”

Highlighting the condition of ASHA workers, she said, “The women working for the National Health Mission (NHM) are not recognised by the government as workers. Considered “volunteers”, they are paid piece-rate incentives, far below the minimum wage. ASHA workers have been demanding for many years that they be recognised as workers.”

“There are almost 9 lakh ASHA workers in India. While the ASHA workers have played an important role in improving the health services in India, their pay and service conditions are woefully inadequate. They are paid meagre amounts as incentive for each task they perform, and they work in the most difficult conditions. The monthly income earned by an ASHA worker in the most parts of India ranges between Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000 per month.”

Some of the other demands that the PM needs to focus on are: more public investment in running campaigns that promote women’s autonomy and freedom to choose their own partners, and ensuring their safety.

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