This week on We Women Want, we had Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the feisty Akali Dal leader from Punjab. She spoke about being a woman in Punjabi politics and how she had not planned on joining politics at all. In fact, one of her conditions for marrying Sukhbir Singh Badal was that he should also not join politics. But events had other plans, and now both Sukhbir and Harsimrat are in politics. She has also started an NGO called Nanhi Chhaan Foundation, whose tagline is Save the Girl Child.
Always seen in a churidaar kurta or salwar kameez with her head covered with a dupatta, Harsimrat explains that this is the look she wears in her constituency and so has made it her look for Delhi too, as she doesn’t want to be a hypocrite and only dress in a certain way for her constituents. In fact, when she wore a sari for a dinner thrown by the then President, Barak Obama, she said she got messages from home asking why she hadn’t worn the traditional Punjabi attire. Known to be outspoken, Harsimrat also talked about Opposition politics and wondered why the BJP was raising the issue of Rahul Gandhi so much.
Were they propping him up so it would be a Modi vs Rahul fight in 2024, for that is exactly what the BJP wants? We Women Want is a weekly show that explores issues that concern most women, cutting across demographics. The show has dealt with issues ranging from body shaming, domestic violence, laws that help women (and also those that don’t), women’s health from reproduction to menstruation, including breast cancer and IVF, acid attack survivors, domestic violence, and women in the workplace. The show, moderated by Priya Sahgal, Sr. Executive Editor at ITV Network, is fast becoming a
support group for women.
