It was meant to be a compliment but it seems to have gone sour.

As he concluded his two-day visit to neighbouring Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised his counterpart Sheikh Hasina for her courage in fighting terrorism "despite being a woman".

"We know solution for everything, but not terrorism," the Prime Minister is reported to have said in his hour-long address to Dhaka University.

"I am happy that Bangladesh Prime Minister, despite being a woman, has declared zero tolerance for terrorism."

Even though the remark was meant to be a gesture of praise, social-media users interpreted it as an insult to women around the world.

Back home, Twitter started buzzing with tweets attached with pictures of women achievers of India: scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation, foreign ministers, sportswomen and more.

This isn't the first time an Indian politician has made a sexist comment.

In 2012, Narendra Modi found himself in a similar situation when he attacked Congress politician Shashi Tharoor at a rally with an insult against his late wife Sunanda Pushkar. Modi referred to Pushkar as a "50 crore ki girlfriend".

"Wah kya girlfriend hai," he said. "Apne kabhi dekha hai 50 crore ka girlfriend?"

(What a girlfriend! Have you ever seen a Rs 50-crore girlfriend?)

Here's a selection of reactions on Twitter as the hashtag #DespiteBeingAWoman trended.

This article originally appeared on Scroll In.