‘Sorry if my words hurt anyone’: Bihar women’s panel chief after ‘condoms' remark stirs row
India Today
Bihar women’s panel chief Harjot Kaur has apologised over her response to young girls’ request for sanitary napkins to be made free.
IAS officer Harjot Kaur has issued an apology after her response to schoolgirls’ request for free sanitary napkins stirred a controversy. On Wednesday, at an event in Bihar, young girls had asked Harjot Kaur, who is managing director of Bihar Women Development Corporation, if sanitary napkins can be made available for free. To this, Harjor Kaur’s response was, ““Today, you are asking for sanitary pads, tomorrow you will ask for condoms.”
Her remark sparked a controversy with the National Commission for Women (NCW) sending her a notice on Thursday. Additionally, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also ordered an inquiry into the matter.
On Thursday, the IAS officer issued an apology stating, “If any words or phrases used during the event has hurt any girl's sentiment, then I express regret. My intention was not to degrade someone or hurt anyone's sentiment. My intention was to inspire young girls to move forward.”
At an event titled ‘Sashakt Beti, Samriddh Bihar' (Empowered Daughters, Prosperous Bihar), young girls asked for sanitary napkins to be made free so that they don’t have to rely on others for the necessities.
A video of the event showed a schoolgirl asking, “ The government is giving lots of free stuff. Can they not give us sanitary pads that cost Rs 20-30?”
To this, IAS officer Harjot Kaur responded, “Is there any end to the demands? Tomorrow, you’ll say the government can give jeans, beautiful shoes. In the end, when it comes to family planning, you’ll want free condoms too.”
A day later, Harjot Kaur had to issue an apology after her remark landed her in hot waters.
