Diplomacy

“I am happy that Bangladesh Prime Minister, despite being a woman, has declared zero tolerance for terrorism,” said India’s PM Narendra Modi, while lauding Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s zero tolerance on terror policy, in a speech on June 7 in Dhaka, eliciting a flurry of commentary on social media networks and fervid opinion pieces.
The remark was an error of judgement by an otherwise astute politician in a speech which, on the whole, spoke very favourably about women in Bangladesh.
Still, two observations – the unfortunate reality – that women, in all positions, are constantly judged in their respective fields through a gendered lens; and the more heartening one- the outrage the comment garnered from diverse sections is an indication that things are changing, albeit slowly. For most people following the subsequent outrage over the comment, one did not need to point out what is wrong with the statement, and that itself is a triumph of feminism. Realizing the problem is the first step towards fixing it, after all.