Imran Khan blames women for sexual violence. He's not the only one

On June 21, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said in an interview, "Avoid temptation in society. We don't have discos, we don't have nightclubs. It's a completely different society and way of life here. So if you raise temptation in society to a point – all these young guys have nowhere to go – it has a consequence in society." He then made things worse while responding to a question on whether a women's clothes can provoke sexual violence. "If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on men, unless they are robots. It's common sense." medium nocaption83751724This is not the first time that the Pakistan PM has said something sexist. In April 2021, he drew severe backlash for his comments on sexual violence when he said, "the rise in sexual violence in Pakistan, particularly against children, was caused due to 'fashashi' (vulgarity)." Khan is not the first political leader to make such comments, and he’s unlikely to be the last. He’s got company across the world, but particularly in India, where several politicians, cutting across party lines, have repeatedly blamed women for being sexually harassed. Some have even said it's the woman's fault she was raped. Some examples...Tirath Singh RawatOn March 16, 2021, Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat blamed 'ripped jeans' for societal breakdown and said it was the result of the 'bad example' parents set for children. “Kyanchi se sanskaar (culture by scissors) — showing bare knees, wearing ripped denim and looking like rich kids — these are the values being given now. Where is this coming from, if not at home? Is this good? All of this, in a mad race of westernisation. While the western world follows us, doing yoga … covering their body properly. And we run towards nudity,” the BJP leader said at a workshop on substance abuse. medium nocaption83751818Mullappally RamachandranIn November 2020, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief Mullappally Ramachandran landed in trouble for calling a woman who had come out against UDF leaders in the solar scam an 'adultress'. “LDF government is depending on an adultress to file cases against UDF leaders. This woman cried that the entire state had raped her. We can understand if a woman gets sexually abused once. But if it gets repeated, then any woman with self esteem would either commit suicide or try to prevent such a thing from happening again. But this woman has been saying she was repeatedly abused,” he said. Although he apologised a little later, the damage was already done.Azam KhanSamajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is no stranger to making controversial comments. At a rally in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Khan said, “People of Rampur, people of UP and people of India, it took you 17 years to understand her reality. But, I could recognise it in 17 days that she wears khaki underwear.” While Khan did not mention any names, it was an obvious reference to actor-turned-BJP leader Jaya Prada, who was pitted against him from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat. medium nocaption83751906Abdullah Azam KhanThey say 'like father, like son'. That adage proved true in the case of Adbullah, who following his father's footsteps, mocked Jaya Prada at a rally in April 2019 ahead of the LS polls. "Humein Ali bhi chahiye, Bajrangbali bhi chahiye, lekin Anarkali nahi chahiye (We need Ali and Bajrangbali, but not Anarkali)," he quipped. The 'Anarkali' – a reference to Jaya Prada's Bollywood past. Surendra Narayan SinghWhen it comes to defending your party leader, who also happens to be the Prime Minister of the country, Surendra Nayayan Singh showed that there is nothing one cannot do, or in this case, say.A BJP MLA from Baria in UP, Singh made misogynistic remarks against BSP supremo Mayawati in response to a tweet by the BSP chief in which she targeted PM Modi for 'living life in a royal manner'.Questioning the age and dress sense of the BSP chief, he said, "Mayawati ji khud roz facial karwati hain, vo humare neta ko kya shaukeen kahengi. Baal paka hua hai aur rangeen karwake ke, aaj bhi apne aap ko Mayawati ji jawan saabit karti hain, 60 varsh umar ho gayi lekin sab baal kaale hain. (Mayawati ji gets a facial done every day, what will she say to our leaders? She colours her hair to look young. She is 60 years old and still her hair are black).”Mohan BhagwatThe 2012 Delhi gang rape brought out the worst in some of our leaders. Against its backdrop, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat created a flutter when he said rape in India is mainly prevalent in 'urban' India due to western influence and not in 'rural Bharat'. "Rapes take place in cities or urban India and not in rural Bharat," he said at a meeting in Assam on January 4, 2013. He also said, "You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of rape." Was Bhagwat living under a rock when he said this? medium nocaption83751970Abu AzmiThe same month, Samajwadi Party lawmaker Abu Azmi remarked, "Women should refrain from venturing out with men other than their relatives. Such incidents (like the Delhi gang rape) happen due to influence of western culture." That's not the only time he's said something chauvinistic. In 2017, Azmi blamed women for the molestation incidents that occurred in Bengaluru on New Year's eve. "In these modern times, the more skin women show, the more they are considered fashionable. If there's gasoline, there will be fire, if there's spilled sugar, ants will automatically gravitate towards it," he said. medium nocaption83752060Babulal GaurThere was another outrageous comment made in January, 2013 – this time by Babulal Gaur, a BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, who said, "The rate of crimes against women depends on how completely dressed they are and how regularly they visited temples. Rapes in Chennai are comparatively less as their women are always completely clad and visit temples regularly." The following year he said, "Rape is a social crime which depends on the man and the woman. It is sometimes right and sometimes wrong."Botsa SatyanarayanaIf that wasn't enough, this is what Botsa Satyanarayana, Andhra Pradesh Congress leader, said on December 24, 2012, just days after the horrific incident. "Just because the country attained independence at midnight, is it proper for women [to be] moving at midnight?”Mulayam Singh YadavYet another Samajwadi Party leader making a sexist remark – only this time it was the party's founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. "Should rape cases lead to hanging? Boys are boys, they make mistakes. Two or three have been given the death sentence in Mumbai. We will try and change such laws...we will also ensure punishment of those who report false cases,” he said while campaigning in Moradabad for the 2014 general election. medium nocaption83752132Mamata BanerjeeAnd if you thought only male politicians made such bizarre comments, you're wrong. In October 2012, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee came up with a shocking reason for the rising rape cases in the country. "Earlier, if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded, but now everything is so open. It's like an open market with open options. Rapes happen because men and women interact freely," she said. medium nocaption83752206It's not just in IndiaMisogyny in politics is not prevalent in India alone. In October 2016, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari while responding to criticism from his wife said she belongs in his kitchen. "I don't know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room," he said.Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called women who work 'half persons'. "A woman who abstains from maternity by saying ‘I am working’ means that she is actually denying her femininity. She is lacking and is a half (person), no matter how successful she is in the business world." he said.Russian President Vladmir Putin, known for his macho image, in an interview said, "I am not a woman, so I don’t have bad days,” he said. “I am not trying to insult anyone. That’s just the nature of things. There are certain natural cycles.” Last but definitely not the least is Donald Trump. medium nocaption83752286From saying that sexual assault in the military is simply what happens when men and women work together to calling women 'manipulative', referring to them as a 'piece of a@@’, calling a news anchor a ‘bimbo’ and suggesting that women should be punished for having abortions – the list of his disparaging comments against women goes back decades.