The question dominating Indian politics: Is it worse when women swear?

ByGeeta Pandey Women Affairs Editor, India, Reporting fromDelhi.

Key points

• In 2023, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri was extensively criticised, external for using Islamophobic slurs against a Muslim MP and threatening him in Parliament.
• In his Independence Day speech in 2022, Modi called on Indians to fight misogyny.
• Most southern states were below 44% and it was between 15% and 18% in the north-east.
• The latest to weigh in has been opposition MP Rahul Gandhi who criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's description of seeing young women swearing as a "culture shock".
• At the Pune event, Gandhi remarked Modi's singling out the gender of protesters was rooted in patriarchy.

Recent footage of young women swearing during a protest in India has sparked an unusual debate: are expletives worse when they come from women?

Notably, the latest to weigh in has been opposition MP Rahul Gandhi who criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's description of seeing young women swearing as a "culture shock".

"If boys swear, there is no difficulty and it is allowed. But if a girl swears, it is a cultural shock, " Gandhi remarked.

For context, the protesters had been directing their anger at the administration and some of the foul language targeted the prime minister, leading to outrage among his supporters, with even numerous critics of Modi's politics saying the women had crossed a line.

For context, the protests concluded a month ago, but Rahul Gandhi's remarks have renewed the debate over how female activism, women voicing their views, stridently – even with expletives – are viewed in the country.

It began last month when some young women employed foul language against the prime minister during the weeks-long Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests in Delhi and other cities, seeking education reforms.

Modi himself addressed the matter in a selfie video where he stated it was "a culture shock" to see young women using expletives, but continued that he forgave them.

Meanwhile, the prime minister, nevertheless, did not comment on the violent police crackdown against the protesters or backing women who noted they had been trolled and had received rape threats for attending the CJP protests.

At the weekend, Rahul Gandhi. This person serves as the leader of the opposition in the lower house of the Indian parliament, criticised Modi's "culture shock" comment at a gathering of students in the western city of Pune.

Pointing out that both male and female protesters had applied foul language during the protest over exam paper leaks, he asked why was Modi only talking concerning women?

His comments came weeks after posters and videos of female protesters insulting Modi went viral on social media.

As police opened an investigation into abusive posts, a 15-year-old girl became caught up in the centre of the controversy, with trolls sending her abuses and threats on social media.

For context, the teenager put out a video apologising for her language and seeking forgiveness. According to She additionally, she had taken down her video, but the outrage continued.

Her mother, a single parent, informed the local press that the controversy had forced them to move home a number of times.

Modi had been more conciliatory in his vertical video shared on Instagram after the protest had concluded. "Some naughty children used extremely abusive expletives which have no place in a civilised society, " he remarked. "They abused me, they additionally abused my late mother. It was deeply disturbing."

Addressing the outrage from his supporters, he remarked he understood their anger. "It's a culture shock. How can our daughters employ such language? But I want to say that mistakes are created in childhood and it's an opportunity to fix them."

"What is the mindset that a girl has a place while boys obtain full freedom? They can do whatever they want, if they want to swear, they can swear. We have to smash this patriarchy, " he remarked.

Journalist Namita Bhandare who writes a popular column on gender problems in the Hindustan Times newspaper informed the BBC that contrary to what individuals say, numerous "women in India of course swear, it's not new".

In plenty of villages of northern Indian, an notable wedding ritual involves women from bride's family singing a medley of expletives while welcoming the groom's party – a tradition that nobody finds offensive.

So, Bhandare notes, describing what was stated at Jantar Mantar as culture shock and calling women out for using swear words demonstrates "double standards" as politicians of all hues, including the prime minister, have applied slurs against women when it suited them.

In his Independence Day speech in 2022, Modi called on Indians to fight misogyny. His administration runs a number of scheme aimed at uplifting women and Modi enjoys tremendous popularity among female voters.

But on plenty of instances, Modi and his party colleagues have been criticised for being disrespectful to women. A number of senior party leaders have been called out for misogynistic comments concerning women's clothing. Modi himself has invited criticism for using terms such as "Jersey cow" in a 2004 rally and "50 crore ki girlfriend" in another event in 2012.

Such criticism is not confined to the BJP. Plenty of opposition politicians, including those from Gandhi's Congress party, have additionally faced similar allegations. A Congress leader in Kerala state lately sparked outrage, external with remarks concerning using women to create false complaints against political opponents.

"Women are treated so shabbily and it's so straightforward to target them. And then when they employ profanity, then everyone asks, how can our girls cuss and swear, " states Bhandare.

Social activist Sunil Jalan, who's been running a Gali Bandh Abhiyan (a campaign aimed at stopping employ of cuss words) since 2014, states "we must focus on swearing, not on the gender of who uses them".

In a survey by his NGO last year, 55% of the more than 70, 000 participants from throughout 28 Indian states and eight federally-administered territories admitted to using foul language.

In practice, the question asked was straightforward: how often do you hear or employ expletives that target mothers, sisters or daughters?

Their 2025 Gali Map of India indicated highly high prevalence rates in the north – 80% in Delhi, 78% in Punjab and 74% in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states. Most southern states were below 44% and it was between 15% and 18% in the north-east.

Jalan notes this is the first time in the country that a dialogue over foul language is taking place, "and hopefully something good will come out of it".

"It's a particularly serious problem. It's a virus that's spread through society. Comedy, jokes and films have normalised swearing and it needs to be reined in, " he notes.

But plenty of of India's Gen Z do not see profanity in the same way.

"Profanity and protest have gone hand in hand for ages. There's a shock-and-awe factor to it. It is fundamental to protest, " CJP spokesperson Sourav Das informed the BBC earlier. "It may be distasteful to some individuals and not to others. But it absolutely can't be criminal."

And such language is hardly confined to street protests. Profanity and personal attacks have increasingly become part of India's public discourse, from television debates to courtrooms and even parliament.

For context, a video that went viral earlier this week indicated a female presenter on Indian government-owned Doordarshan channel trying to control a temple priest who let out a volley of cuss words at a Congress party spokesman who then retaliated in the same language.

In 2023, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri was extensively criticised, external for using Islamophobic slurs against a Muslim MP and threatening him in Parliament. As outrage grew, he afterwards stated he regretted his statement.

Sociologist Shiv Vishwanathan notes "the use of expletives is the symptom of a deeper breakdown of democracy, it shows there's end of discussion and a lack of respect".

When expletives are applied inside Parliament and courts, he states, "it shows there's a breakdown of language, there's a decline of argument and decline of democracy".

Meanwhile, the employ of profanity by protesters is as "when there's a weaker sense of respect, expletives become a response".

Taken together, the developments around the question dominating Indian politics: Is it worse when women swear? Point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.