The women’s reservation bill, which seeks to provide reservation for women in 1,370 of the 4,109 seats in 28 assemblies, has been heralded the next big thing of Indian politics. The Proponents of the bill claim that the bill is tantamount to women’s empowerment.
Well, I beg to differ. Around 23% of the seats in parliament are reserved for SC/ST members since the ‘90s and yet we do not see any results to ascertain the success of this reservation policy. The benefits of parliamentary reservation for lower caste members have not 'trickled down' from the 'creamy layer' to the truly oppressed. And this is the fate of this women's bill. Empowerment should be the prerogative of all Indian women, not just some. The women’s reservation bill will only succeed in creating ‘empowered puppets’ who will serve as proxies for established male leaders.
The reservation is a mockery of democracy as it deprives the electorate the right to choose their representatives irrespective of sex. Instead of outright reservation, political parties should be encouraged to nominate more female candidates. There should be more equitable distribution of party tickets based on performance and ability.
But the damning criticism of the bill lies elsewhere. There is no proven linear relationship between the representation of women in parliament and their emancipation. Pakistan’s assembly has 22% female representation, more than double the figure in India. Yet Pakistan ranks near the bottom in most global rankings on women’s freedom and status. Thus the solution is not in increased representation of women in parliament, but in the altering of social mindsets. Millions of Indian girls die before they are even born – the stark foeticide, infanticide and dowry killing figures are testament to this. And if a girl child manages to see the light of day, she lives a life of discrimination when it comes to nourishment, healthcare, education and opportunities for employment. Women live in constant fear of suffering the indignity of harassment, abuse and rape.
How much of this is going to change with more women in parliament? The Constitution and a number of laws already provide for gender equality. The problem does not lie in our society’s ability to pass women-friendly laws, but rather in implementing them .What we need is increased social activism in daily lives at the grassroots level, not more female legislators. The judiciary, the police force those bastions of male hegemony that implement the high-minded laws promulgated by our legislators needs to change, not the ratio of women in parliament.
The women’s reservation bill presumes that aspiring women legislators in this day and age need the proverbial crutch. Spare us, we do not want sympathy. The test for whether or not I can hold a job should not be the arrangement of my chromosomes. Judge me for my abilities n my abilities alone. I would like to conclude by citing XIME as an example. 50% of the students of the class of 2009-2011 are women. This, without any reservations or quotas. XIME has proved women can definitely thrive amid cut throat competition. We do not want any relaxation of rules, neither do we want cajoling, because as a woman I have no barriers. As a woman the world is my footstool.
Well, I beg to differ. Around 23% of the seats in parliament are reserved for SC/ST members since the ‘90s and yet we do not see any results to ascertain the success of this reservation policy. The benefits of parliamentary reservation for lower caste members have not 'trickled down' from the 'creamy layer' to the truly oppressed. And this is the fate of this women's bill. Empowerment should be the prerogative of all Indian women, not just some. The women’s reservation bill will only succeed in creating ‘empowered puppets’ who will serve as proxies for established male leaders.
The reservation is a mockery of democracy as it deprives the electorate the right to choose their representatives irrespective of sex. Instead of outright reservation, political parties should be encouraged to nominate more female candidates. There should be more equitable distribution of party tickets based on performance and ability.
But the damning criticism of the bill lies elsewhere. There is no proven linear relationship between the representation of women in parliament and their emancipation. Pakistan’s assembly has 22% female representation, more than double the figure in India. Yet Pakistan ranks near the bottom in most global rankings on women’s freedom and status. Thus the solution is not in increased representation of women in parliament, but in the altering of social mindsets. Millions of Indian girls die before they are even born – the stark foeticide, infanticide and dowry killing figures are testament to this. And if a girl child manages to see the light of day, she lives a life of discrimination when it comes to nourishment, healthcare, education and opportunities for employment. Women live in constant fear of suffering the indignity of harassment, abuse and rape.
How much of this is going to change with more women in parliament? The Constitution and a number of laws already provide for gender equality. The problem does not lie in our society’s ability to pass women-friendly laws, but rather in implementing them .What we need is increased social activism in daily lives at the grassroots level, not more female legislators. The judiciary, the police force those bastions of male hegemony that implement the high-minded laws promulgated by our legislators needs to change, not the ratio of women in parliament.
The women’s reservation bill presumes that aspiring women legislators in this day and age need the proverbial crutch. Spare us, we do not want sympathy. The test for whether or not I can hold a job should not be the arrangement of my chromosomes. Judge me for my abilities n my abilities alone. I would like to conclude by citing XIME as an example. 50% of the students of the class of 2009-2011 are women. This, without any reservations or quotas. XIME has proved women can definitely thrive amid cut throat competition. We do not want any relaxation of rules, neither do we want cajoling, because as a woman I have no barriers. As a woman the world is my footstool.
4 comments:
weight.. loaded with facts ..
Do keep writing like this.... enjoying..
george..
Well said, with enough facts to back up. Way to go..
u write really well..no wonder..u chose BA Lit..
coming to this women reservation.. I somehow feel it cannot be compared with the caste reservation..the caste reservation has been a joke these days.. all those who avail of them..most of them come from economically strong background and technically dont need any reservation..
but if any govt scheme has to be successful it has be to communicated properly to those who really need it..which many times doesnt happen and the real needy people dont get benefitted...
I believe women reservation is needed..You would definitely agree to the fact that women in general have been suppressed for centuries..even in my family men have higher say than women..and I believe it happens in many families..
To empower women and to compensate for the way they have been treated for ages they need to be provided this reservation..It will create some kind of hope and that hope will definitely trickle down..
You have said that instead parties shld nominate more women..now please everyone craves for power..it wld never happen that way
Another important aspect for reservations..there need to be some deadline and evaluation at regular intervals on how effective the scheme is and continuously modify the reservation criteria. Which seems to be missing in the caste reservations
hey.. thnx unknown!! :) yr views r very valid too...mine was just a perspective fr a 4 minute sppech... :)
n yea, i dint choose lit.. u wld knw if u read the earlier posts!! :)
Post a Comment