'In North India, women are asked to stay home and bear children': DMK MP's remark sparks outrage

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Dayanidhi Maran has sparked a political storm after making a controversial remark comparing the roles of women in Tamil Nadu and North India.

Speaking at a function at Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women in Chennai, Maran, a four-time MP, claimed that while women in North India are often expected to stay at home and bear children, Tamil Nadu encourages girls to pursue education and careers.

“Our girl students should be proud, and we are proud of them. That’s why we want girls to study. What do they say in the North? Girls? Don't go to work, be at home, be in the kitchen, bear a child, that's your job," he said.

Maran also referenced the Tamil Nadu government's laptop distribution scheme, noting that the beneficiaries use the devices to study and prepare for interviews. He credited the state's progress in women's education to the welfare initiatives of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, as well as his predecessors, Karunanidhi and Annadurai.

The BJP swiftly condemned Maran’s remarks, accusing him of lacking "common sense." Party leader Narayanan Thirupathy demanded that Maran apologise to the people of India, particularly the Hindi-speaking communities.

“I don’t think Dayanidhi Maran has any common sense. This is the problem. I strongly condemn his comments. He must apologise to the people of India, particularly the Hindi-speaking people, whom he has insulted by calling them uneducated and uncivilised,” Thirupathy said.

BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan also criticised Dayanidhi Maran, urging DMK leaders to stop discriminating against people from other states.

"I belong to Tamil Nadu too, but I take pride in my state without demeaning our brothers and sisters from other states. When I served as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, we distributed laptops to students four years ago. Dayanidhi Maran is not giving laptops. They are sticking their photos on the laptops and are threatening children to remove those photos. DMK MPs sit in Parliament alongside MPs from other states—how can they degrade people from those states?" she said.

Soundararajan further emphasised the contributions of women, noting their leadership across various government and industry sectors. "This is a highly indecent comment by Dayanidhi Maran, and we strongly condemn it," she added.

DMK leader TKS Elangovan, however, defended Maran’s controversial remark, saying there is nobody to fight for women’s rights in northern states.

"Here in Tamil Nadu, we fought for women and empowered them. We gave them education. We gave them employment. We have also reserved seats in government jobs. We have been working for the advancement of women's rights from the beginning. In the north, there is nobody to fight for the women. That's all," he said.