A RECENT video, reportedly posted by a sitting Member of Parliament from the opposition, has been deemed as utterly disrespectful to Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand. Rightfully, there has been condemnation from not just the government side, but from other sections of society.

What has been undisputed from all of the related statements of condemnation, it that the attack on the minister, through the video in question, was an unwarranted and vile one on women in general.

What has been heartening is that a few who share the same political ideology as the Member of Parliament in question, have voiced their condemnation. What remains discouraging and even unsurprising, is that senior members of his party and leading organisations, including some who claim to champion the rights of women, are still silent.

Given how these particular organisations have operated in the past with a profound sense of efficiency with regard to issues involving persons deemed as supportive of the current government, the ongoing silence seems convenient and deliberate.

Given that a female Member of Parliament who was recently leading protests against the minister and who is a colleague of the other who posted the video, has failed to make any semblance of a condemnation even from a general perspective of women, further demonstrates the convenience and deliberateness alluded to.

Unfortunately, this silence of convenience by this these people in question, is nothing new. A casual examination of the attacks on the former Town Clerk, Carol Sobha, would also reveal the absence of condemnation from this particular set. As mentioned, they are swift to pounce on those who they see as affiliates of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the government it leads.

That is not suggesting that condemnation should be made when necessary. What it points to, is the glaring absence of consistency and the blatant resort to choice when to do so. That in itself removes credibility of such individuals and organisations who try to impose a sense of being caring.

The female Member of Parliament and her colleagues, spare no effort in finding ways and means to criticise the government on women-related issues. They even try to discredit polices that are designed to advance the welfare of women on the grounds that enough is not being done. In all of their arguments, one can be easily sucked into a narrative that these people are the defenders of women and the bastion of morality where such issues are concerned.

But that is talk and when it comes to action, there is little to prove that commitment. This is easily evident from the absence of an unconditional condemnation of that repugnant video. This further exemplifies the inherent hypocrisy and is demonstrative on an ability to oppose merely for the sake of doing so and an inability to accept that a wrong has been done.

The latter is not surprising given what transpired during the five-month post election period in 2020. That aside, and given that the expected condemnation would not be forthcoming from those quarters as a result of protecting cronies despite the national impact, the posting of the video is totally unbecoming of Member of Parliament.

That surely cannot be without consequence. With none seemingly expected from his party and colleagues, one would expect that Parliament itself could make an intervention. If that is a possibility, then many would be eager to know the options. From what has transpired, it seems that such attacks are condoned by some just for scoring political points.

Had it been the other way around, where someone affiliated to the government was involved, the raising decibels by this particular set would have been difficult to measure.