Women are sensual beings: Omji Maharaj
Self-proclaimed religious leader Swami Omji Maharaj on a TV news channel has said that women are sexual beings and would attract sexual predators, the way jaggery attracts flies, if not fully dressed. The remarks made by Omji, a Bigg Boss 10 contestant, came amid the ongoing rage after Bengaluru mass molestation incident that happened on the New Year's Eve.
Hindu Mahasabha president Swami Omji Maharaj, one of the panelists in Rahul Kanwal's primetime show Newsroom, made controversial remarks about women and held their dressing sensibilities accountable for sexual assaults they face in India. Omji, who described womem as sensual beings, was of the opinion that short skirts invite trouble and that women in burqa are safer. He said women, if not fully clothed, will attract sexual predators the way jaggery attracts flies.Omji's comments come at a time when millions across India are enraged by the Bengaluru mass molestation incident that happened on the New Year's Eve and the news of a woman groped and robbed in Bengaluru a couple of days before. Many people, including celebrities like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Farhan Akhtar, Anushka Sharma, Varun Dhawan, Taapsee Pannu, Malaika Arora Khan and Virat Kohli, condemned the situation in India where women are unsafe regardless of the clothes they wear or where they are at, at any given point of time or whom they are with, but there are also many people who share Omji Maharaj's views.Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi had ignited outrage after he remarked that Indian women are trying to ape the western culture by opting to wear revealing clothes and made a statement similar to Omji, "If there's gasoline, there will be fire. If there's spilt sugar, ants will gravitate towards it for sure," implying that women are responsible for inviting sexual predators.  Azmi said, "In these modern times, the more skin women show, the more they are considered fashionable. If my sister or daughter stays out beyond sunset celebrating December 31 with a man who isn't their husband or brother, that's not right."Farhan Akhtar and Varun Dhawan, Bollywood actors, had expressed their contempt to Azmi's statement on Twitter. Women should not dress like westerners b'coz men dressed like westerners are molesters, says the man in the shirt.#oxy(deprived)moronsArgggh how this angers me.Sir punish the criminals not the victims. Women can wear what they want it's their choice. https://t.co/HSpRjlRq8AWhen one of the women panelists, senior lawyer Karuna Nundy asked Omji whether he thinks he has the right to touch a girl, standing fully nude in front of him, he said, "many Bollywood actresses have come completely nude in front of me and even tried to seduce me. I am a "sanyasi" who has control over my senses and desires, but not all men can do that".BJP leader Nupur Sharma said that there is no written law in India or in the Constitution that dictates how women should dress or live their lives, just like there are none for men. She also asked Omji to be more responsible with his words. Columnist Advaita Kala, another woman panelist, had a few good (sarcastic) laughs listening to Omji's regressive remarks and we can't blame her. Senior journalist and achor Rahul Kanwal gave a piece of his mind to Omji Maharaj for saying, "stop aping western culture, I ensure there will be no rapes in India," saying "then what about 6-month-old babies and 80-year-old women getting raped?" 