‘Lipsticks and bob-cut hair…’: RJD’s Abdul Bari Siddiqui stokes row with remark on women’s reservation law

Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui has sparked a row by stating at a rally that only women with “lipsticks and bob-cut hair” will benefit from the Women's Reservation Bill, that was recently passed in both Houses of the Parliament.

“Those with lipsticks and bob-cut hairstyles would come forward in the name of women's reservation. The government should instead provide reservations for women belonging to backward communities,” the former Bihar minister said on September 29, while addressing a public event in Muzaffarpur.

Siddiqui's remarks drew ire from the opposition, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the RJD of exposing its “anti-women” mindset. 

“The kind of language he had used against women, sisters and daughters of India is shameful, disgraceful and condemnable. It is shocking. What is this language? What is the real intention? When you were in power did you make any attempt for the empowerment of the OBC for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha? The whole approach is power should only come to the family,” senior BJP leader and Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

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BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla added that this is “not just the statement and thought process of RJD, but the thought process of the entire INDI alliance today”.

RJD's ally Janata Dal (United) distanced itself from Siddiqui's remarks. "Abdul Bari Siddiqui is a senior leader in RJD and if he has made such a statement, JDU can never appreciate it. It is the women’s right to wear whatever they want and it should be them who should decide what they can and can't wear,” JD(U) MLC Khalid Anwar told news agency PTI.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, another constituent of the INDIA coalition, said such remarks should have been avoided.  "We are in the 21st century today. One should avoid making such statements, which can hurt women…We also want the women from backward classes to come forward. We are also talking about the reservation of SC, ST, and OBC women in the Women's Reservation Bill," JMM MP Mahua Maji said, while speaking to ANI.

Amidst the controversy, Siddiqui offered a clarification, saying that he made the remarks in an attempt to explain the issue to a gathering of rural women. “In that rally, hundreds of rural women were there. I used that language to explain to the rural woman in their language. My intention was not to hurt anyone... If someone is hurt, I express regret. It was a gathering of extremely backward classes and I was teaching them. RJD had been in support of women's reservation since the beginning,” he said.

Notably, the legislation that guarantees 33 percent of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was passed in the Lok Sabha on September 20, and in the Rajya Sabha on September 21. The bill became a law on September 29, following the assent given to it by President Droupadi Murmu. However, the quota will not come into effect till at least 2029 due to the pending delimitation and census exercises.