#DespiteBeingAWoman: Twitter has a field day after Modi's allegedly 'sexist' comment

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned from his Bangladesh trip, #despitebeingawoman was the number one trending topic on Twitter, triggered by Modi’s comments in Dhaka about his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina fighting terrorism, “despite being a woman”.

“It is heartening that Prime Minister of Bangladesh despite the fact that she is a woman is openly saying that she has zero tolerance for terrorism. I would like to congratulate Sheikh Hasina for her firmness to deal with the menace,” the PM said while delivering a lecture at Dhaka University.

While he was giving Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina a compliment, Twitter saw it as a backhanded, sexist, misogynistic and downright chauvinist statement to make. He then went on to say terrorism is an enemy of humanity, and therefore all humanitarian forces had to unite to fight it.

But that was of no avail as his ‘sexist’ had already given enough to the twitterati all over India to put Twitter on fire. Rumour has it that the hashtag #DespiteBeingAWoman was created by @BrownBrumby.

Here are some of the tweets.

Hahaha-No #DespiteBeingAWoman for us-secretly we are all men-just carefully shave our moustaches off every morning:) https://t.co/RrD238QA16

— Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) June 8, 2015

Hashtag flexibility #yogaday #DespiteBeingAWoman pic.twitter.com/80vFLPSYzV

— Samit Basu (@samitbasu) June 8, 2015

Btw nobody used #DespiteBeingAWoman for Malala Yousufzai. She did it despite being a woman no & faced it becoz she was a woman.

— Gabbar (@GabbbarSingh) June 8, 2015

Dear @narendramodi ji, I made to office on time #DespiteBeingAWoman. I think I deserve a medal.

— Aarushi (@AaruC) June 8, 2015

It appears PM in Bangladesh has had amnesia about a heroine the Hindutva brigade otherwise is fond of. Rani Lakshmi Bai. #DespiteBeingAWoman

— Kanika Gahlaut (@kanikagahlaut) June 8, 2015

Bhakt responses to #DespiteBeingAWoman 1) quoted out of context 2)RaGa's family also said it 3)RaGa went on holiday 4) Go to Pakistan

— SamSays (@samjawed65) June 8, 2015

"#DespiteBeingAWoman" pic.twitter.com/JtGVFL58jD

— anechoic (@anechoic_calm) June 8, 2015