Amid the ongoing debate in society over women’s dignity, freedom and capacity for decision-making, remarks made on a podcast by Maulana Sajid Rashidi, president of the All India Imam Association, have once again raised a big question mark over the soch of so-called maulanas. Commenting on the intelligence of Hindu and Muslim girls, he said that girls have their brains in their knees.
During the conversation, he also made several objectionable remarks about women’s romantic relationships, jobs, promotions at the workplace and their behaviour with men. The most serious controversy is over his statement in which, in the context of incidents of rape, he made an argument on women’s consent and responsibility that is being described as downplaying the gravity of a crime committed against a woman’s will. His statements have now raised questions about respect for women, gender equality and the need for responsible statements in public life.
The conversation on the podcast began with the question of Muslim girls being attracted towards Hindu youths. On this, Rashidi cited religious beliefs and social behaviour as the basis. He said that Muslim youths explain the matters of deen and Islam to girls. According to Islamic beliefs, a boy and a girl meeting alone before marriage is not considered proper. According to him, some Muslim girls studying in college feel more comfortable with those youths who do not discuss religious rules and the Quran with them. In this way, he appears to put only the Muslim girls in the dock.
During the conversation, commenting on girls’ decision-making capacity, he said that whether a girl is Hindu or Muslim, her brain is in her knees. This remark targeted women’s understanding without making any distinction on the basis of religion. Rashidi said that girls get influenced by small things. A young man’s treating her to a meal at a good restaurant, buying her clothes or gifting her an expensive mobile phone can make her ready for a relationship. Here the focus of his statement remained on women’s decisions and their behaviour.
The most serious remark by Maulana Sajid Rashidi, president of the All India Imam Association, came on rape. He claimed that rape cannot happen at all without the girl’s wish and that a lone man cannot commit such a crime. In this statement, a notion about responsibility for the crime was expressed that clashes with the reality of a sexual crime committed against a woman’s consent and her will.