- People in the know would substantiate that the subject matter has acquired an air of despondency ever since the political parties and their leaders simply failed to transform those promises and assurances into action on the ground. The plight of women in every society continues to be progressing for the better but the underlying misogynistic and patriarchal mindset hasn’t given way to wholesome acceptance. Despite mooting gender parity, equality, unbiased treatment, a level playing field, and at-par acceptance of both sexes, the situation on the ground remains iffy-jiffy. Of course, women are increasingly essaying an important roleplay in several verticals – both professionally and domestically. But is it enough? Not at all.
PC: HT Archive
- Let’s look at how India as a nation stands on this matter. The moot point to ponder over here is whether Indian women have gained acceptability at par with their male counterparts in terms of administration of the country vis-à-vis representation in the legislature bodies. The answer is a resounding no. As you know, the speculation is rife that the legislative agenda of the special Parliament session will be to reserve one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for women. Note that the country and its women have come a long way since the passage of such legislation was first attempted in 1996. Thankfully, the vociferous opposition that every government attempting this has faced so far, has also muted.
- Remember those brutish scenes of male MPs tearing up women’s reservation bills in the past, those are unlikely to be repeated. The socio-economic argument for this reservation was strong even three decades ago. What the passage of time has done is shift politics to the same page. BJP committed to a constitutional amendment towards this reservation in both its 2014 and 2019 manifestos. Individually many male politicians must still be offering resistance within the party. But today’s BJP can tame rebels. And the party has a chance to tell voters it has delivered the boldest reform for women since the Constitution delivered universal adult franchise. Of course, Congress will remind voters how it spearheaded the transformative one-third reservation.
PC: Reuters
- Also, Sonia Gandhi’s staunch leadership ensured a women’s reservation bill through the Rajya Sabha in 2010, in a much more hostile time. But almost certainly, the governing party will bag the bigger bragging rights. As for reasons, the politics on women’s reservation has shifted so much since 2010, look at the 2019 Lok Sabha elections voting data: women’s turnout beat men’s for the first time – a trend also being seen in many assembly polls. Policymakers should know there’s a close and much-studied connection between high growth and women’s empowerment, and the latter will get a major boost if the number of women more than double in our legislatures. Hopefully, the reservation will see the day of light sooner than later.
