Swati Maliwal, chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, has expressed “shock” at senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan’s comments on a woman who was raped in a moving car whose husband was stabbed, and called upon politicians to “exercise caution on such sensitive issues”.
“Shocked by Mr. Azam Khan’s comments on a woman raped in a moving car whose husband was stabbed,” Maliwal wrote in a series of tweets on Friday.
“How can Azam Khan tell a rape victim dat her struggle is publicity stunt which’ll bring her disgrace & she’ll not b abl 2 show her face!,” she wrote.
Minority Welfare Minister Khan told the victim to not to try and find “popularity in such a thing of infamy and shame”.
The incident occurred during an event in Kanpur on Thursday when the woman came to petition Khan on the slow pace of police investigation.
Khan snapped back, allegedly saying: “Agar aap badnami ko itni shohrat dengi, toh zamane ko apni shakl kaise dikhayengi (if you rake up such a shameful matter, how will you have a face to live in the society)?”
As the woman carried on saying that the culprits were roaming free and she was receiving death threats, the minister said he did not actually know what the matter was.
Khan went on to say he would take the memorandum from the “behan jo halla kar rahi hain” (the sister who is creating such a ruckus), and added that she had “got her two minutes of fame by raking up the issue”.
The crowd began whistling and clapping at the minister’s statement, forcing the woman to beat a hasty retreat.
Maliwal requested politicians to show compassion with rape victims.
“Politicians should support victim’s struggle for justice. Rape is a disgrace for the country & society, not for the victim,” she tweeted.
“Politicians should exercise caution on such sensitive issues. Should think of their mothers & sisters before showing insensitivity.”
Khan has been perpetually in the news for his outrageous remarks on one subject or another, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Only recently, Khan reportedly tried to justify the Paris terror attacks in which 129 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured, saying it was happening in response to the blind pursuit of the US and western powers to grab oil in Islamic nations.
