Why Women’s Reservation Bill Is An Idea Whose Time Has Come
While the Mahila Congress members were detained on International Women’s Day, 2018, for rightfully and legitimately demanding the passage of Women’s Reservation Bill, we ask the Modi government some pointed questions: What are you afraid of? Why are you unnerved by independent, educated, politically aware women asking for their share of representation in all spheres of Indian politics? What makes the Modi government so insecure? What message does the Modi government want to give by detaining women protestors on International Women’s Day?
Your party rants about women empowerment, but when it comes to action in terms of sharing your power, you retreat. This is despite the BJP being bestowed an absolute majority by the people of India. Legendary icon Dr. BR Ambedkar said political equality cannot be a reality without social equality; just like how in 1947, all of us, from various walks of life became equal before the law. We all got a right to vote. This was historic as women elsewhere were still not given voting rights. Yet, we as a country believed in progress, and progress comes from having the courage and the vision to create an equal society. The demand for reservation is a call for real participation in governance through representation in decision making bodies. This is a space where we have often been ignored or under-represented which mirrors our social reality. Our social inequality denies us equal spaces in this political structure. The next logical conclusion to the coveted Right to Vote is that all of us, irrespective of gender, have an equal opportunity to be elected. The Indian government under then PM Rajiv Gandhi could attain this in panchayats and nagarpalikas despite the Opposition parties trying to thwart the bill. Enough studies already indicate how elected women in these local bodies positively contribute to governance and legislation. Now we demand reservation in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. As the recent letter from former Congress President Sonia Gandhi suggests, the Party has pledged its full support to the bill. Why is the Modi government silent on this too? #SheInspiresMe is the hashtag the paid guns of BJP are trending on Twitter today. Dear Modi, a hashtag gives us no real power, but reservation does.
The women of India are not begging. They are not asking. Nay, they are not even requesting. They are rightfully and legally demanding what should be a given. If the Modi government had the least modicum of civility and better sense, it would have taken this up with earnest interest. We still look forward to it, and we will not give up our efforts to remind the government of its responsibility at every possible platform.
