Slips between cup and lipstick
THE WEEK India|October 15, 2023
Most men like the company of women, but RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui is averse to women who cut their hair and wear lipstick. The former finance minister of Bihar told a rally last week that such women will claim every third seat in Parliament and state legislatures that may get to be reserved for women from 2029.
R. PRASANNAN
Slips between cup and lipstick

The tut-tut to bob cut and lipstick runs in the political bloodstream of many leaders. Years ago, while debating the predecessor bill to the present Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023, Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal (U) had said the same thing in much the same words.

Blame not the two gents. Their words were crude, but the fear that women from elite classes and families will hijack the quota is genuine and widespread and has been there since Nancy Astor walked into the House of Commons in 1919 and claimed the first seat by any woman in any Westminster-style Parliament. Ironically, the fear about elitism was aired first by a woman who had been fighting for women’s rights.

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