The question dominating Indian politics: Is it worse when women swear?

Journalist Namita Bhandare who writes a popular column on gender issues in the Hindustan Times newspaper told the BBC that contrary to what people say, many "women in India of course swear, it's not new".In many villages of northern Indian, an important wedding ritual involves women from bride's family singing a medley of expletives while welcoming the groom's party - a tradition that nobody finds offensive.So, Bhandare says, describing what was said at Jantar Mantar as culture shock and calling women out for using swear words shows "double standards" because politicians of all hues, including the prime minister, have used slurs against women when it suited them.In his Independence Day speech in 2022, Modi called on Indians to fight misogyny. His government runs a number of scheme aimed at uplifting women and Modi enjoys tremendous popularity among female voters. But on many instances, Modi and his party colleagues have been criticised for being disrespectful to women. A number of senior party leaders have been called out for misogynistic comments about women's clothing. Modi himself has invited criticism for using terms such as "Jersey cow" in a 2004 rally and "50 crore ki girlfri...