At a women-only edition of his 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' outreach in Pune on Saturday, 22 August, Rahul Gandhi delivered one of the most unambiguous feminist statements by a national leader in recent Indian political memory. Addressing thousands of young women at the AISSMS ground, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition framed women’s autonomy as the core of India’s strength and called on them to “smash the patriarchy”.

His central refrain — “You don’t belong to anyone else, but yourself” — cut through the usual political platitudes about women as mothers, sisters or daughters, and instead asserted a woman’s primary ownership of her own life. In doing so, he placed the question of who controls women’s bodies, time and ambitions squarely at the centre of democratic discourse.

Gandhi began by challenging conventional answers to the question of India’s “greatest strength”. Where many would cite the economy, the military or demographic heft, he insisted: “India’s 70 crore women are the nation’s biggest strength and asset.”

He described these 70 crore women not as a monolith but as “70 crore unique journeys, unique imaginations, and unique dreams”, rejecting any narrative that reduces women to a single, state-approved identity. This formulation counters a political culture that often celebrates women symbolically while circumscribing their........

© National Herald