Abu Azmi's comment on Bengaluru molestation case is not his first sexist rant

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and the father-in-law of actor Ayesha Takia, Abu Azmi has once again exposed his sexist side by attributing the recent Bengaluru molestation to 'skin show' and the willingness of women to stay outdoors after sunset.[caption id="attachment_1659131" align="alignleft" width="380"] Abu Azmi. IBN Live.[/caption]India Today reported that Abu has said that the molestation was bound to happen since women consider nudity as fashion. He added that women should not roam around in the dark barring when they are accompanied by male family members. "If a girl celebrates after dark she should go with her husband, father and not with strangers. There should be strict action against those going against our culture," said Abu.This statement is largely a reiteration of his past comment on rape in 2014 when he went on record and said that the girl should be hanged if she gets raped. A report by Deccan Chronicle states that the senior leader said, "Rape is punishable by hanging in Islam. But here, nothing happens to women, only to men. Even the woman is guilty.”Takia had taken to Twitter to condemn her father-in-law's statement by saying that both she and her husband Farhan Azmi were 'embarrassed' and ashamed of Abu's statement.However, Abu's verbal spat and inherent misogyny dates back even further. A year prior to that, he had said, "Women are precious like gold. If you expose them, they'll be looted. Women should not move around like men late night. They are weak, so they should think before they venture out.""When villagers come to big cities they see women with lesser clothes and make-up... that's why such incidents happen in the country," he went on to say.Earlier that year, weeks after the unfortunate Jyoti Singh rape case, Abu had issued a similar horrendous statement, "If you keep petrol and fire together then it will burn. There should be a law to ensure that there should be no 'nangapan' (nudity). Those who wear less clothes should also be banned."At that time, his son Farhan, another SP leader, had condemned the statement by saying, "I retract the comment on my father's behalf, it is highly condemnable and I apologise to all the people in the country. The remarks have deeply disturbed me and my wife Ayesha and my mother and even my father is embarrassed."Farhan has also expressed his disagreement with his father's comments on the Bengaluru molestation through a tweet: