Kerala
Kerala minister's brainwave to reduce rape: Let men be farmers and women discard their phones
In yet another statement which is bound to embarrass the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, the Minister for Public Works G Sudhakaran said on Saturday that there was a link between farming and the number of rape cases in the state.
Inaugurating an office building in Alappuzha, the minister said that the number of rape cases would come down if more men were to engage in farming and women were not so "obsessed" with their mobile phones.
“Farmers seldom get time to abuse women...he does not have the time, because he will be busy with farming,” the minister was quoted as saying.
He even urged the society to practice self-control, reports Sajimon PS The Times of India.
What's more, the minister put forward a suggestion that local-bodies should teach the people the necessity of having self- control. The minister’s "finding" was that women who use mobile phones are likely to be not aware of their surroundings, that anti-social elements make use of. The minister said that people themselves should exercise self-restraint and that government or the police cannot force society to do so.
This is not the first time a minister from the Pinarayi cabinet has made such statements.
Minister for Power M M Mani’s statement against Pembilai Orumai on April 22 accusing the women's group of engaging in immoral activities during their protest for better wage in 2015, had courted major controversy. The outrage it created finally forced the party to publicly warn him.
Pembilai Orumai is a women’s collective formed in Munnar for the workers of the tea plantations. The leaders of the collective staged indefinite hunger strike in Munnar demanding the minister’s resignation. Finally they called off the protest on Friday.