The National Commission for Women and its boss, Rekha Sharma, were widely criticized online.
New Delhi:
A meeting of the head of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Rekha Sharma, with the Governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, on Tuesday is being widely criticized as, according to the commission, she discussed the “increase in cases of loving jihad “and the safety of women in the state.
Ms Sharma told the governor that there was an increase in cases of “love jihad” in Maharashtra and highlighted the distinction between consensual marriages between religions and “love jihad”, stating that the latter required attention, the commission said. PTI news agency. reported.
“Love jihad” is the term used by right-wing groups to target relations between Muslim men and Hindu women, which they say is an elaborate ruse to convert women by force.
The woman’s body also tweeted a photo from Tuesday’s meeting, showing Ms. Sharma sitting with Mr. Koshyari.
“Our president @sharmarekha met with Bhagat Singh Koshyari, His Excellency, Governor of Maharashtra and discussed issues related to the #security of women in the state, including the missing One Stop Centers, sexual abuse and rape of female patients in the #COVID centers and the rise in cases of love jihad, “tweeted the NCW.
Our president @sharmarekha met with Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari, His Excellency, Governor of Maharashtra and discussed issues related to #womensecurity in the state, including the missing One Stop Centers, sexual abuse and rape of female patients in # COVID-19 jihad centers and cases of increase in love pic.twitter.com/JBiFT477IU
– NCW (@NCWIndia) October 20, 2020
Before long, the NCW and its boss were widely criticized on social media.
“Could the NCW and its president kindly clarify what is meant by ‘love jihad’? Are you using it with the same meaning as some extremist groups? If so, do you support their kind of vigilantism?” wrote a Twitter user, responding to the commission’s tweet.
Could the NCW and its president kindly clarify what is meant by “love jihad”? Are you using it with the same meaning that some extremist groups are doing? If so, do you endorse your type of vigilantism?
– Debiprasad Mishra (@DebiprasaMishra) October 20, 2020
Another user asks if @NCWIndia can be “trusted to deal with cases where women are assaulted and even killed by interreligious marriages.”
“This is outrageous, there is increasing extremism and intolerance along with the state’s indifference towards crimes against women and minorities. Is it really constitutional to use the term ‘love jihad’ to point to a religion?” read another response to the NCW tweet.
This is outrageous, there is growing extremism and intolerance along with the indifference of the state towards crimes against women and minorities. Is it really constitutional to use the term ‘love jihad’ to refer to a religion?
– Pallavi (@pallavitura) October 20, 2020
In February, the government told parliament that the term “youth jihad” is not defined in existing laws and that no central agency has reported any cases, officially distancing itself from the term used by right-wing groups in several cases of interreligious marriage. . .
A section of social media users also shared controversial tweets, allegedly posted by Ms Sharma, several years ago. Her tweets are now inaccessible because Ms. Sharma has changed her profile settings.
“My position on this is that I have complained to Twitter because there was suspicious activity on my account and it is under investigation … I would not like to answer about trolls,” Ms. Sharma said today.
#SackRekhaSharma became one of the trending hashtags on Twitter with many calling for its removal from the main post.
“Having installed a deeply misogynistic, bigoted and downright sordid NCW chief, the Modi government clearly doesn’t give a damn about women’s rights,” noted lawyer Karuna Nundy tweeted.
The issue of “loving jihad” by the women’s panel comes up in the background of the recent dispute over a Tanishq ad. The jewelry brand had to withdraw the ad last week amid accusations of promoting “love jihad” and intense calls for trolling and boycotts on social media.
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