A video of politician and animal rights activist, Maneka Gandhi, has recently gained a lot of attention on the internet. She was addressing a public gathering at Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur, where she suggested using donkey's and goat's milk to produce soaps.
She said that the 'soap made out of donkey's milk keeps a woman's skin beautiful' and further claimed that 'Queen Cleopatra from Egypt used to bathe in donkey's milk'.
She said, "Cleopatra, a very famous queen, used to bathe in donkey's milk. Now, the soaps made with donkey's milk cost ₹ 500 apiece in Delhi. Why don't we start making soaps with goat's milk and with donkey's milk?"
In the clip, she mentioned that the population of donkeys is declining in the country and even the washermen are not using them anymore.
"There is a community in Ladakh which also noticed that the number of donkeys was falling. So they began using donkey's milk to make soap. Soaps made with donkey's milk will keep a woman's body beautiful forever," said Maneka Gandhi during the speech.
Maneka Gandhi speaking at the event organised in UP
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
Further, she spoke about the issues of deforestation and how it has led to an increase in the prices of wood, and subsequently resulted in increased expenses. To counter this problem, she suggested using cow dung cakes instead of wood during the cremation, since it will not only reduce the costs, but also give an opportunity for people. to earn more by selling these cow dung logs.
She said," Wood has become so expensive that, even in death, people leave their family behind poorer. Wood costs around ₹ 15,000 - ₹ 20,000. Instead, we should add aromatic material to cow dung and use them to cremate the dead body. This will reduce the cost of the cremation rituals to just ₹ 1,500 to ₹ 2,000 and you can earn lakhs by selling these cow dung logs,"
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)