Nirmala Sitharaman dubs patriarchy a ‘Leftist concept’, asks ‘how did Indira Gandhi…?’

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dubbed patriarchy a ‘concept invented by the Left’ on Saturday as she addressed a college event in Bengaluru. She also countered conventional views on patriarchy and urged women to “stand up for themselves” and forge ahead in public spaces.“Don’t get carried away by fantastic jargons. If you're able to stand up for yourself and speak logically, patriarchy cannot stop women, certainly not in a country like India. Patriarchy couldn't stop freedom fighters like Aruna Asaf Ali, Sarojini Naidu and others. Women are sending such wonderful satellites, rockets and spaceships and most of those women wear saree, have clumsy hair etc. Which patriarchy stopped these scientists here?” she asked