The issue of consent is at the forefront of social media discussions in India, triggered by a viral clip from a stand-up comedy show, in which an audience member recounted a date with a woman, saying that after buying her a plate of biryani worth 370 rupees (€3.36), he expected sexual access in return.
“I spent money, so I should get something back,” he told the crowd, drawing laughter from audience members, including comedian Pranit More, who was hosting the show.
Following the backlash, the web developer who made the remark was fired from his job, while More issued an apology for not challenging the comment instead joining the laughter.
The incident has sparked a wider debate in India about entitlement, consent, and whether paying for a meal gives a man any claim over a woman’s body.
People also said the laughter from the crowd normalized everyday misogyny instead of challenging it.
This comes at a time when there has been persistent violence against women in India.
Nationwide, 29,536 rape cases were reported in 2024, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. There were 441,534 cases of crimes against women reported, the data said.
Fueling a debate on consent
Mrignayanika,* a Delhi-based development sector professional, told DW that this case sparked a discussion about how dating culture can slide into transaction-based thinking.
She said she always found it “exploitative” that men buying women drinks made the men feel “entitled to their time and attention.”
She added she always insists on splitting the bill.
“I don’t want anyone getting ideas about me owing them time, attention, or sexual favors because they bought me a beverage,” she said. “I’d rather have my coffee alone.”
Gayathri Sreedharan, applied anthropologist and founder of Izaar, a sexual health discussion group in collaboration with the Hank Nunn Institute, said India’s struggle with consent education stems from the fact that “sex talk has a major free speech problem in this country.”
“We can make rude jokes, but we can’t talk about the basics — the health part, the biology, laws, things like conditional consent, which is at the heart of the issue raised at the Pranit More show.”
*Name changed on request
