NCW writes to Bihar speaker, demands strong action against Nitish Kumar for his remarks on women

New Delhi: The NCW has demanded strong action from the Bihar assembly speaker against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his remarks in the Assembly on the importance of women's education to control the population and demanded his apology.

The Bihar chief minister, while emphasising the importance of education among women to control the population, put forward a vivid description in the state assembly of how an educated woman can “restrain” her husband during sexual intercourse.

In a letter to Bihar assembly speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said it strongly condemns and protests the use of such derogatory and vulgar statements made by persons holding responsible positions which shows extreme disrespect to women.

“Therefore, in view of the above, I urge for strong action against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his said statement must be expunged from the records,” the NCW said in the letter.

In a post on X on Tuesday, the NCW said it "vehemently condemns the recent statements made by Kumar in the Vidhan Sabha”.

National Commission for Women, vehemently condemns

the recent statements made by Nitish Kumar in the Vidhan Sabha concerning women's fertility and education and linking it to the population of the country.Such remarks are not only regressive but also egregiously insensitive to…

— NCW (@NCWIndia) November 7, 2023

"Such remarks are not only regressive but also egregiously insensitive to women's rights and choices. Bihar's chief minister should issue an apology to women across the country for these deeply offensive remarks," NCW said on X.

The commission's chairperson Rekha Sharma demanded an unequivocal apology from the Bihar chief minister.

“On behalf of every woman in this country, as the chairperson of the NCW, I demand an immediate and unequivocal apology from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,” she said.

"His crass remarks in the Vidhan Sabha are an affront to the dignity and respect that every woman deserves," she said on X.

On behalf of every woman in this country, as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, I demand an immediate and unequivocal apology from the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar. His crass remarks in the Vidhan Sabha are an affront to the dignity and respect that… https://t.co/xNom7jqnzq

— Rekha Sharma (@sharmarekha) November 7, 2023

Sharma said such "derogatory and cheap language used during his speech is a dark stain on our society".

“If a leader can make such comments so openly in a democracy, one can only imagine the horror the state must be enduring under his leadership. We stand firm against such behaviour and call for accountability," she said in the post.