Recent footage of young women swearing during a protest in India has sparked an unusual debate: are expletives worse when they come from women? The latest to weigh in has been opposition MP Rahul Gandhi who criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's description of seeing young women swearing as a "culture shock". "If boys swear, there is no problem and it is allowed.
But if a girl swears, it is a cultural shock," Gandhi said. The protesters had been directing their anger at the government and some of the foul language targeted the prime minister, leading to outrage among his supporters, with even many critics of Modi's politics saying the women had crossed a line. The protests ended a month ago, but Rahul Gandhi's remarks have renewed the debate over how female activism, women voicing their views, stridently - even with expletives - are viewed in the country.
It started last month when some young women used foul language against the prime minister during the weeks-long Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests in Delhi and other cities, seeking education reforms. Modi himself addressed the issue in a selfie video where he said it was "a culture shock" to see young women using expletives, but added that he forgave them. The prime minister, however, did not comment on the violent police crackdown against the protesters or support women who said they had been trolled and had received rape threats for attending the CJP protests.
At the weekend, Rahul Gandhi, who serves as the leader of the opposition in the lower house of the Indian parliament, criticised Modi's "culture shock" comment at a gathering of students in the western city of Pune. Pointing out that both male and female protesters had used foul language during the protest over exam paper leaks, he asked why was Modi only talking about women? His comments came weeks after posters and videos of female protesters insulting Modi went viral on social media.
As police opened an investigation into abusive posts, a 15-year-old girl became caught up in the centre of the controversy, with trolls sending her abuses and threats on social media. The teenager put out a video apologising for her language and seeking forgiveness. She also said that she had taken down her video, but the outrage continued.
Her mother, a single parent, told the local press that the controversy had forced them to move home a number of times. Modi had been more conciliatory in his vertical video shared on Instagram after the protest had ended. "Some naughty children used extremely abusive expletives which have no place in a civilised society," he said.
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