The government took a lot of pride in the fact that they had nominated the first female speaker and the first female president of the country. In fact, the members of the Alliance Lepep did not fail to use the ‘woman’ card to attack the opposition and the press when the reputation of Maya Hanoomanjee and Ameenah Gurib Fakim were being questioned following the biscuit scandal and the Álvaro Sobrinho episode.

In fact, on Women’s Day, a few months ago, Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Collendavelloo was quick to attack the press with regards to the articles that had been published about Gurib Fakim’s affiliation with Sobrinho.

“This situation perfectly sums up the mentality of some people who denigrate women and want to belittle their role,” he said.

However, it seems that Collendavelloo’s words and opinions on the importance and role of women – which he proudly expressed at the Women’s Day celebrations in March – were just a farce, just like the promises of the Alliance Lepep during the electoral campaign in 2014. When the tables were turned at a political gathering of the Muvman Liberater on Tuesday night at Trèfles, where Government Deputy Chief Whip Ravi Rutnah attacked a journalist and compared her to a dog, Collendavelloo had a completely different opinion.

This time, it was with a big smile on his face that he defended his “long-time friend and great lawyer” and justified his revolting comments by blaming it on the journalists. According to Collendavelloo, Rutnah’s comments and anger towards the press were completely understandable and therefore, it was OK for the deputy chief whip to say such things – in the presence of the minister of gender equality, Fazila Jeewa Daureeawoo, whose only way of reacting to the degrading comments that were being made about a woman was to sit quietly and smile.

In his excitement, Collendavelloo also defended Vice Prime Minister Showkutally Soodhun, who recently told a woman to “shut her mouth” and leave a workshop only because she had the guts to tell the minister that he was “out of subject” and was doing cheap politics instead of focusing on the work that he had gone there to do.

“I say hats off to Soodhun,” Collendavelloo said. “I understand their anger”, referring to both Soodhun and Rutnah.

But Collendavelloo knew little about the anger of the population. When he faced it the next morning, he quickly offered a feeble apology to the journalist targeted and to all women for the “strong language” used by Rutnah. Collendavelloo also assured us that his good friend will make an appropriate statement to explain what he had said – which he did, except that he only ‘apologised’ for offending people and not for what he actually said.

So, thank you for your ‘apologies’, Honourable Members and Gentlemen; we can now happily go back to our lives and forget that our country is being ruled by hypocrites who spend their time downgrading and disrespecting the people who elected them. 

For more views and in-depth analysis of current issues, subscribe to Weekly for as little as Rs110 a month. Free delivery to your door. Contact us: touria.prayag@lexpress.mu