In his fourth ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ address, held in Pune on Saturday (August 22, 2026) and his first in Maharashtra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged the Gen Z women to “smash” the patriarchy.
His address, which lasted well over an hour, was interspersed with interactions with young women from different backgrounds who spoke of their concerns. “At Jantar Mantar, bad words were used by both boys and girls. And yet, the PM expressed cultural shock only about the girls. “We don’t want an India where it is believed that boys should get full freedom, but that girls should be kept in a cage at home. We want justice. We want that everyone should be respected. The fear from your hearts should be erased at the earliest. You are the foundation, the future of this country,” Mr. “Women are controlled through violence. That is direct physical violence.
He said the 70 crore women of India are more important than the 70 crore men of the country. Every six out of 100 women are raped in India. There is financial violence, where ₹17,500 is spent annually for the safety of a woman. He also said that only 8% of women in India own property independently.
Because of women, the message was that it is okay for the boys to use bad words, not the girls,” he said, adding that the BJP leaders believed that 80% of rapes happened. There is violence of opportunity, whereby 50% of women reject jobs due to safety concerns. He claimed that 60% of girls cannot go out of the house alone, and 45% drop out of school due to household responsibilities or marriage.
“Be loud, be proud and fight for your space in society,” he told the girl students at the AISSMS ground on Saturday (August 22, 2026) evening amid a rousing welcome. Speaking in Marathi, he said, “Pune mhanje prem [Pune means love],” drawing cheers from the youngsters. Calling the BJP leadership responsible for the “return of the Manusmriti”, he played a clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing shock at the foul language used by young girls during the Jantar Mantar protest, terming it a “cultural shock. Gandhi said amid a thundering response. So there is direct, financial and opportunity violence when it comes to the women of our country,” he said.
