WOMEN MUST BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY

BY SANJEEB KUAMR SAHOO

I’m going to talk about one of the politicians’ personal behavior toward his wife. The politician in question is a Lok Sabha MP from Odisha, but I will not reveal his identity here. I am bringing this up as I feel this is an important subject for the upcoming assembly elections. I believe voters should make informed decisions while choosing their representatives. Citizens should vote for the right candidates, based on their personal behavior, relationships with voters, and commitment and dedication towards society in large. Trust me, I never expected to write about it, but the behaviour of this politician towards his wife and upcoming polls made it a compelling case to form a discourse around this very important point.

This is about a lawmaker who made some upsetting remarks against his wife from his social media account after the Odisha family court quashed a divorce case between the couple. He should be ashamed of reacting in the manner he did….

Ironically, when I replied ‘respect women’ in response to his social media post against his wife, his supporters mocked me. I don’t like a person who misbehaves with his wife, speaks about his personal life on social media. This also sends a wrong message to the people who look up to him and see him as a role model. I rather believe this kind of behavior can damage society and hurt the image of a country as Lok Sabha MPs are elected representatives. What baffles me is that the Odisha-based party and its president have chosen to maintain silence over the issue, and have failed to take stern action against this MP. Even the Lok Sabha Speaker is deafeningly silent, despite being made aware about his inappropriate behaviour by me on X (formerly Twitter).

On the other hand, there are globally prominent people who continue to praise their women. Yes, I’m referring to the song ‘Yellow’ by the British rock band Coldplay. It is a song about unrequited love written by Chris Martin about a love he had before Gwyneth Paltrow came into his life, as per the reports. This is called love and respect for a lady of the heart despite not having a relationship with her. The song’s words talk about all the things someone will do to show how much they love and care for someone: write a song, swim and jump over obstacles, draw a line.
According to some reports, Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, and Will Champion wrote “Yellow” in Rockfield Studios in Wales. The four band members, who had been friends since college, were taking a break from the hustle and bustle of London to concentrate on their debut record in a more tranquil setting.

It doesn’t matter who wrote the song or when; the point is that it’s about respecting women. It could be about someone you look up to and would do anything for, a pure love. The lyrics to the song are as follows: -“Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you, And everything you do Yeah, they were all yellow. I came along, I wrote a song for you, And all the things you do, And it was called Yellow, So then I took my turn, Oh, what a thing to have done, And it was all yellow, Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones, Turn into something beautiful, And you know, you know I love you so, You know I love you so,”. Please take the time to listen to this song.

My concern is that voters from five states must check the background of candidates and their relationships with their family and friends because if he or she does not have a good relationship with them, they will never understand the problems of their constituents after winning the assembly seat.

In this edition, however, I am also discussing scheduled assembly polls in five states, and I have dedicated this edition to Election Commission of India (ECI) and its brilliant team for their great work while preparing a report that I have used as a cover story in this edition, which can be read
beginning on page number 6.

Finally, many readers may wonder why the publication is not covering political parties and candidates for the upcoming assembly polls, which are scheduled to begin next month, November 7onwards. The results will be released on December 3. Our readers can expect more interesting stories on polls in the coming editions as National Political Mirror is a weekly edition and we want to deliver the best to everyone.

Note: On October 15, 2023, this piece was originally printed in a weekly magazine of National Political Mirror.