Rekha Sharma, the National Commission of Women of India, is facing massive backlash after several of her old tweets were found to be misogynistic and sexist. After screenshots of the controversial tweets went viral and calls grew louder for her removal as the NCW Chief, Rekha turned settings of her Twitter account to private and is believed to have deleted some of her older controversial tweets after she protected her profile.
However, screenshots of her old tweets had already been shared. In defence of a 2012 tweet targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where she had called him a “deaf and a mute person,” Rekha Sharma claimed that her account was ‘hacked’. However, screenshots of several other older tweets were shared by users, and the problematic tweets ranged from targeting Jawaharlal Nehru with an alleged Photoshopped image, targeting Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi with sexist jokes and even ‘wishing rape’ upon a man’s family.
Members of the opposition party Congress, activists, celebrities and politicians have questioned the NCW chief. AAP leader Atishi addressed a press conference on Wednesday, demanding Rekha Sharma’s resignation. “If a woman who herself has a vulgar, cheap and anti-woman mindset presides over an institution that has to stand up for women's rights, what expectation can we have from it? Will she stand up for women, will she take action against vulgar Twitter trolls, will she take action when women are harassed, against rapists? The AAP demands that Rekha Sharma be removed as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women with immediate effect,” said Atishi.
'This is disgraceful. It shows the character of the person saying it. Party should take strict action against the person' https://t.co/BOKcc3l4ny pic.twitter.com/TxSADleWs7
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) October 20, 2020
Its extremely pathetic to see the way @sharmarekha speaks as @NCWIndia chairperson. Personal attacks, making lewd comments, disrespecting women is not the way to show your loyalty. Trust me, been through that. It kills you at the end of the day. Lets not make politics dirty.
— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) October 21, 2020
How can a woman with a foul, contemptible and anti-feminist mindset preside over an institution established to protect the rights of women?
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 21, 2020
We demand the removal of Rekha Sharma from the post of Chairman of NCW with immediate effect. - AAP Spokesperson @AtishiAAP pic.twitter.com/Je2xwd9lQF
We presume that all women just by the privilege of being female will stand against sexism,misogyny,patriarchy.We forget that women,like men are merely human.And human beings can be cruel.Whatever form they come in.Truth is patriarchy,sexism,even empathy is not gender specific.
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) October 21, 2020
However, aside from her tweets, Rekha Sharma had stoked criticism in the first place for her meeting with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Mumbai, where she discussed the “rise” in 'love jihad' cases in the state, among other issues, a statement from the NCW said.
‘Love Jihad’ is a term often used by trolls and certain members of right-wing Twitter to oppose interfaith marriages. The theory is that Hindu women are ‘lured’ into marriages by Muslim men and are forced into converting to Islam. However, this theory remains just a theory — it has no proof or law or data to back it. The government has stated in the Parliament before that there is no data to allege such a ‘love jihad.’
The Centre earlier in February told the Parliament that the term 'Love Jihad' is not defined under the extant laws and no case of 'Love jihad' has been reported by any of the central agencies. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy had said Article 25 of the Constitution provides for the freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health.
"The term 'Love Jihad' is not defined under the extant laws. No such case of 'Love Jihad' has been reported by any of the central agencies," he said in reply to a written question.
The NCW’s meeting was also criticised by many on social media for “[legitimising] a communal term spread by those who seek to undermine secularism.”
Disappointed to see the @NCWIndia legitimise a communal term spread by those who seek to undermine secularism, equality and agency for women in such a manner. The organisation must raise concerns about sexual violence, forced marriage, but it must choose its words more carefully https://t.co/p2vSAo1oPQ
— Maya Mirchandani (@maya206) October 20, 2020
Wow. Has “love jihad” been statutorily defined ? Does NCRB possess data on the number of such cases and how it’s rising ? It’s utterly shameful how a government body is legitimising bigotry. https://t.co/Hl7Kmh4VZI
— Radhika Roy (@royradhika7) October 20, 2020
Her conduct both now and in the past only prove that @sharmarekha does not deserve to be heading the @NCWIndia. It is incredible she was appointed in the first place. India’s women deserve better, beginning with an overhaul of this organisation and its mandate
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) October 21, 2020
#SackRekhaSharma https://t.co/PylnH0aVgs
— Onir (@IamOnir) October 21, 2020
At the time of writing, Rekha Sharma’s handle remained private. She had over 16.9k retweets on Tuesday night before she locked her account, and according to screenshots online, her tweet count has reduced by around 300 tweets, indicating that many have now been deleted.