The demand for revival of the jinxed Women’s Reservation Bill is raising its head once again with the chorus now led by none other than Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, who revived it on Tuesday in Parliament. She was instrumental in getting the bill passed in Rajya Sabha six years ago but could not get it through the Lok Sabha. Ironically, the Bill providing for one-third quota for women in legislatures has broad support from all political parties, yet the same parties have stalled its passage in Parliament for the past 19 years.
Since the adoption of International Women’s Day in 1975, although women’s status has improved in India, the pace has been very slow. There is no lack of lip service from politicians of all hues but they all shy away from supporting this legislation which was evident even this year at the women’s conference organised by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. While President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari had stressed on the need for the quota, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to respond.
Former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had initiated progressive legislations like SITA and banning of Sati. One of them was the 1989 constitutional amendment bill seeking 33.3 percent quota in panchayats and municipalities but it was defeated by five votes in Rajya Sabha. Three years later, the PV Narasimha Rao government got the bill passed in Parliament, which enabled the emergence of about a million women sarpanchs in India today.
“Our government is working towards evolving consensus. Hope we succeed at the earliest,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. But the consensus continues to elude although women as a block is a sizeable vote bank. While there is a divided opinion in almost all parties except the Left, the main opponents are the Janata Dal United (JD(U)), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Samajwadi Party. The Shiv Sena, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party (AIMIM), and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) also oppose it in its present form. The blame should also go to the women’s organisations who refused to accept 20 per cent reservation proposed once instead of being pragmatic.
Do we need a quota for women? Much has been argued for and against it. The vociferous argument was that it will give women a voice in decision making and new talent will sprout from among women. The argument against is that the minorities will not have much benefit and seat rotation will see less dedicated Members of Parliament. Above all the sisters, wives and daughters of political families will only benefit from such a measure.
True talent cannot be suppressed and the women who made it to the top will vouch for this. We have a woman speaker and have had a woman president (2007 to 2012).We have women judges in Supreme Court and High Courts. Women are doing well in armed forces, administrative services and there are other areas where they have broken the glass ceiling. But gender bias still continues.
Will the quota bill solve all gender problems? NO. Fighting for substantive empowerment and change also entails a struggle for basic change in mindset against rape, khap panchayats, honour killings and Sati — retrograde in values.
Women should fight for their due share instead of waiting for political empowerment and show their power at the time of voting. Political parties too could give more tickets to women candidates instead of arguing against their capacity to win. Women leaders should try to promote the cause of women.The whole thing begins at home with women taking care of the education of their children. After all, Indian women got their franchise much before many other countries and India had a woman prime minister too before many other countries.
India has a long way to go in women empowerment. It has become a ritual to celebrate women’s day on March 8 when noises are made about the need to empower women. The current Lok Sabha has just 12 per cent women while the Rajya Sabha has 12.8 per cent, well below the global average of 22 per cent. In February 2016, India’s rank globally has also fallen from 117 in 2014 to 144. Even some African and Latin American countries have overtaken India.
