Upping the ante over Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi's derogatory statement, women activist Brinda Adige on Tuesday said that men need to change their mindset instead of pointing fingers at women, adding the former should apologise for his remark.
"He must not make such shameful remark because no woman walks nude on the street. It does not matter what kind of clothes she wears, it is the mindset, perception and the narrow mindedness of men. A woman, wearing saree, salwar kameez and even hijab and burkha, is molested and assaulted. He (Abu Azmi) needs to take back his statement and apologise," Adige told ANI.
"I think there has to be some answer from the politicians and the system. We are seeing time and again that not just in Karnataka, but across India, politicians are speaking the same kind of language, where the onus to be safe and remain protected is on women. No responsibility is being given to the men. They continue giving statements, such as, women should be covered, women should not go outside at night, they should not enjoy and celebrate," she added.
Adding on to this, she said such statements, which degrade and disrespect women, makes her sad and angry.
Azmi on Tuesday said that nudity has become a new fashion in our society.
"In this modern era, more a girl exposes, the more she will be called fashionable. I believe, if my daughter or sister is celebrating 31st night after sunset and she doesn't have her father or husband with her and is with other men, then she can't be treated with respect," Azmi told ANI.
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He further said that women need to be cautious and should take care of their own security.
"Women from rich family also used to cover themselves before appearing before men, that is our nation's culture. In western culture, the parents don't care about their girl but we do care. We should take precaution about our girls' security so that she doesn't get involved in some wrongdoings. We shouldn't give chance to anyone," Azmi added.
Azmi's Statement comes in the wake of the Bengaluru incident, where several women were molested and heckled by drunk, unruly men on the streets on New Year's Eve.
The incident took place in the busy areas of MG Road and Brigade Road, where men groped and verbally abused women.
Reacting to the same incident, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara, on Monday, said that such incidents do happen on New Year's Eve and Christmas, adding that they do take a lot of precautions.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has issued summons to both for their derogatory assertion.