24/08/2026
𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐲!
Before Rahul Gandhi lectures women on patriarchy, perhaps he should look closer to home. What could be more patriarchal than a political dynasty where the son is repeatedly projected as the family heir, while his sister, Priyanka Vadra, was kept waiting for years before getting a substantive political role? If Rahul Gandhi truly believes in equality and agency, he should practise what he preaches.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐕𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞.
After nearly a century of electoral drubbings, surely the writing on the wall isn’t hard to read.
And while he figures that out, perhaps he should spare the confident young women of Pune the lectures. They don’t need Rahul Gandhi to teach them about agency. The record on women’s empowerment speaks louder than the rhetoric.
Under PM Shri Narendra Modi:
🏠 3.12 crore PMAY-G houses have been completed, with around 75% of beneficiaries being women.
💼 1,02,054 startups have at least one woman director/partner.
💰 More than 3.46 crore women are Lakhpati Didis, with the target now at 6 crore.
🤝 10.14 crore SHG members are part of 94.31 lakh SHGs, putting women at the centre of grassroots economic empowerment.
⚖️ The Triple Talaq law gave Muslim women legal protection.
🏛️ The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam provides for 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.
And here’s a revealing measure of women’s political voice.
Across the 15th–17th Lok Sabhas, women’s seat share was almost identical in the BJP and Congress: 12.3% vs. 11.5%.
Yet BJP women had a Voice Ratio of 1.16, while Congress women had just 0.62. In other words, BJP women spoke 16% more than their seat share would suggest; Congress women spoke 38% less. In the 17th Lok Sabha: BJP 1.16 | Congress 0.57.
And it was the Modi government that gave India its first full-time woman Defence Minister and first full-time woman Finance Minister: Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
Another pathbreaking facet: women’s entry into the Armed Forces has also expanded significantly under the Modi government, including through the NDA and Permanent Commission across multiple arms and services.
During in May 2025, an Indian Air Force female Flight Lieutenant flying a Su-30MKI was part of the strike package targeting the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke. Multiple women officers also served as pilots and weapon system operators on Su-30MKI and Rafale jets during the 88-hour conflict.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 — 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞 “𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐲𝐚𝐫.”
So Rahul Gandhi, before shouting “Smash the patriarchy!”, perhaps smash your dynasty first. But that’s all you have, sadly. India’s women don’t need lectures. They need opportunity, ownership, representation and the freedom to lead.
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐢 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
