In another example of entitled Indian men speaking on women’s bodies, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate, Anchor Dindigul Leoni made sexist and fatphobic comments during a campaign meeting, comparing women to cows and saying that drinking the milk of foreign cows has made them fat and “like a barrel” instead of the figure 8. 

.@KanimozhiDMK Madame please get rid of womanizers like Dindigul Leoni, Vairamuthu etc in your party before you talk about women's safety.. pic.twitter.com/cVkGCQ8eGi

— Vishwatma 🇮🇳 (@HLKodo) March 24, 2021

“You know, there are many types of cows. On farms, you would have seen foreign cows. People use a milking machine for foreign cows. A person will switch on the machine and 40 litres of milk will come out in an hour. By drinking that milk, all our women have become fat like a balloon,” Dindigul Leoni said in the video, as reported by the Indian Express. 

“Earlier, a woman’s figure looked like the number 8. They could carry children on their hips. But now, if they hold a child, it slips away because they have become like a barrel. All our children have also become fat.” 

This is only days after Uttarakhand CM made his comments questioning the values of women who wear ripped jeans, but this new development definitely takes the cake if making sexist remarks against women was a competition. 

Of course, the internet was furious at what he said. 

Utterly distasteful. It is not just the words uttered in a campaign speech but the mind that harbours the thoughts and forms these words that are distressing.

‘Women’s hips becoming like barrels': Dindigul Leoni's sexist remark at DMK campaign https://t.co/oi3bOKk6Lv

— K S Narendran (@NarendranKs) March 25, 2021

So Dindigul Leoni made that sexist jibe while campaigning for DMK's environment wing Secretary Karthikeya Sivasenathipathi. Nalla combination.

— Narayanan (@visaraj) March 25, 2021

Dude: women no longer have figure 8, they look like barrels
Meanwhile, dude looks like this: pic.twitter.com/j5vdDeMYis

— Mr. Beef (@Sachin_Nishil) March 25, 2021

DMK's Dindigul Leoni made ultra sexist remarks during rally,
Says
"Women have lost their figures, putting on weight after consuming milk from foreign cows".
You know its kalyug when Women Hips are being call out Election Rallies.#TamilNaduElections2021 #dmk #leoni

— BarelyHuman (@HarshitGulati17) March 25, 2021

'Women No Longer Have Figure 8, Look Like Barrels': DMK Candidate Dindigul Leoni At Campaign Meeting

It seems sexism and misogynist remarks are indian politicians new benchmark, these kinds of political leaders are very harmful to a healthy social ecosystem. https://t.co/1AACACnfNw

— The Warrior Pro (@optimusprime689) March 24, 2021

And this isn’t all. While BJP leaders such as Gayathri Raguram were quick to slam him on his comments…

What a shame.. what milk does he drink? Does he know what happens to women’s body post pregnancy or during hormonal changes? @KanimozhiDMK what do you like to say to this kind of male chauvinist? Is this the respect your party people have on women. https://t.co/7yMf5esqX0

— Gayathri Raguramm (@BJP_Gayathri_R) March 24, 2021

...on the same day as this video hit the Internet, another video was doing rounds on Twitter where Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh made remarks on how Mamata Banerjee wore her sari.

এইরকম কুরুচিকর মন্তব্য @DilipGhoshBJP বাবু ছাড়া আর কারোর থেকে প্রত্যাশিত নয়!

একজন মহিলা মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর সম্বন্ধে এইরকম নিন্দনীয় ভাষা প্রয়োগ প্রমাণ করে যে @BJP4Bengal নেতারা মহিলাদের সম্মান করে না।

বাংলার মা-বোনেরা @MamataOfficial-এর প্রতি এই অপমানের যোগ্য জবাব দেবে ২রা মে। pic.twitter.com/OINU6M7a1W

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) March 24, 2021

@BJP WB Pres asks in public meeting why Mamatadi is wearing a saree, she should be wearing “Bermuda” shorts to display her leg better

And these perverted depraved monkeys think they are going to win Bengal?

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 24, 2021 

One has to wonder what obsession politicians have with what women do with their bodies, and why such misogynistic remarks are being used to fuel election campaigning.

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