SHILLONG: Prominent citizens of the State have castigated a section of the media which branded Home Minister Roshan Warjri as ‘Homemaker Home Minister’ in a report appearing on Friday. They said the comment betrays the deep-seated patriarchal mindset of the media and that it is wrong to base the performance of the Minister by referring to her gender.
Earlier, it was reported in a section of the media that few concerned citizens had questioned the failure of Home Minister Roshan Warjri in tackling the law and order situation in the State, while terming her as a ‘Homemaker Home Minister’ while demanding her removal.
According to them, the failure of law and order in the State is attributed to the inefficiency of the Home Minister to restore peace in the State, owing to the fact that she is a woman.
Several women leaders came to the defence of the Home Minister and said that the breakdown of law and order in the State is not because of the failure on the part of the Home Minister but are the result of several factors, no matter who is heading the Home department.
Expressing her disgust at the statement, Chairperson of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women Theilin Phanbuh said that to term the Home Minister as a ‘homemaker’ and to look down on her just because she is a woman is totally unjustified.
“I don’t agree with the views of the many because the situation in Garo Hills has been festering for a long time and is not a new thing in the State. The same failure was even witnessed in the past when a male was heading the Home department,” she said.
According to Phanbuh, to blame a woman for the failure and breakdown in the law and order in the State is unacceptable because it is not only one person who is responsible in maintaining peace and security in the State. “It is high time to shed away the male chauvinistic attitude from the minds of the people,” she added.
On the same note, Padma Shree awardee Bertha Dkhar has disagreed with the view which dragged the position of the Home Minister to a ‘homemaker’ and blaming her gender for failure in maintaining order in the State.
“To look down on a woman and blame her for everything is unacceptable in a matrilineal State like ours. The same breakdown can happen at any time. Unfortunately, the same had to happen during the time when a woman heads the department, but that does not mean that she is less capable in handling her job,” Dkhar said.
She was also of the view that even if a man heads the department, if something has to happen, it will happen. “Does that mean, we have to blame him for what had happened,” she said adding that people need to look at everything from a broader perspective.
Meanwhile, former bureaucrat and president of ICARE, Toki Blah has condemned such derogatory statement stating that if people have to give their comment, they should do it on the Home Minister and not pinpoint on her gender.
“A woman is not the only homemaker; even a man is a homemaker in his own way,” Blah said adding, “It is shameful in a civilized State like ours to drag some one’s gender just because something is not right.”
Others who spoke mentioned that if anyone needs gender sensitivity training it is the media persons. They feel that media lacks sensitivity while reporting issues and tends to stigmatize women.