Should there be any reservation for Women in Politics?
The idea of reservation for women in politics is not a new one. The intention of promoting and strengthening the local self-government was made a reality through the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments of 1993, as per which 1/3rd seats are reserved for women in the rural and urban democratic bodies respectively. This gave way for better participation of women as decision-makers in politics at the local level.
Later in 1996, the Women’s Reservation Bill, providing 33% reservation to women in Lok Sabha & all state assemblies was introduced during the H. D. Deve Gowda government. Later, due to subsequent lapses and failures of the bill in the parliament, it could never become law and hence still pending in LS for a long time.
Do you think the bill should be passed soon?
What do you think,
The Ayes would have it?
Or
The Noes would have it?
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Aye? Because
1) Reservation is an affirmative action through which government can bring women leaders at the forefront of state & national politics.
2) Women can better understand women’s issues.
3) They can be more proactive in taking Women-led development forward.
4) Women are better ‘Crisis managers’. Something that got even more concretized when the leaders like Jacinda Arden(PM-NZ), Katrin J(Iceland), Sanna Marin(Finland) Angela Merkel(Germany Chancellor) were successful in flattening the Covid19 Curve.
5) Educating and empowering women is equal to strengthening and developing society.
6) Such a law can help cope with the age-long injustice that is still being faced by women.
7) A dream of achieving an egalitarian and uniform society can be achieved in the long run.
8) When men and women are two wheels of a cart then why women are still struggling to reach the 50% mark in the parliament and have a grim, bare-minimum-like presence there?
9) It becomes even more important in our country where the criminalization of politics has always been on the rise and where the money-muscle power nexus has been a huge decisive factor. Politics has been deliberately made a male-dominated domain where women’s entry was never a bed of roses.
10) It is not women who lack the right ingredients to become the great politicians of the country but the real culprit is the patriarchal system. It has strengthened its grasp, reach, and roots in a deeper way thereby manipulating everything in a manner that suits the needs of the few chauvinist beings.
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No? Because
1) Experiences from Panchayati Raj Systems, present a good number of cases where Sarpanches were women but nothing more than a ‘Rubber Stamp’ wherein the ‘Real power’ vested with the male counterparts especially husbands.
2) How can we neglect the illiteracy levels and the lack of basic knowledge. There have been instances where some women sarpanches were found to be unaware of the country’s National Anthem.
3) Lack of education, experience, confidence, skills can be detrimental to decision making(the most important job of a leader).
4) At times, the decisions & choices they make are not completely their own.
5) The mere notion of giving women some sort of reservation strengthens a type of belief system that makes them look different or as someone less capable than men.
My Opinion:
1) Education, Empowerment, Awareness should be placed at the top in the order of preferences.
2) ‘Limited Reservation for Limited Period of Time’ to Women from economically, educationally & socially backward Communities.
3) They need to become fully aware of their powers & rights before this bill becomes a law OR they will be/ can be manipulated to fulfill the political aspirations of others.
India needs to fast pace its actions when it comes to the inclusion of women in the parliament and hence the political system of the country. The picture seems miserable with only 14% of women in the country’s national assembly which is much below the global average of around 24%. The sad part is India is lagging behind its neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and China where women representation in politics is much better than India. There is a need for a political will to bring about a positive change. The change should be brought keeping in mind the unique culture, socio-economic conditions, geographic location, and regional aspirations of its people in mind. I wish that an upgraded education system, a positive overhaul of the mindsets of the orthodox souls of our society, and the construction of an equal and just society would help the vulnerable section of women in such a way that there would remain no need for any reservation anymore.
So, What do u think?
The Ayes have it?
Or
The Noes have it?
Jail Hind…
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