A definitive step forward…

Tuesday’s passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha that gives statutory reservation for women in one third of the seats in Parliament and State Assemblies,marks a definitive step forward in the struggle to end gender inequalities in the highest decision making bodies in the country. The women of India now await its passage not just in the Lok Sabha but also its ratification by atleast 15 state assemblies for it to become applicable to forthcoming elections. It is also expected that the UPA Government will show better floor management and those opposed to the provision will also voice their protest democratically and in a manner befitting the occasion! This is indeed a historic development and is bound to change the very face of Indian politics. It must be noted that when around 10 lakh women are getting elected to local self-government bodies from panchayats to municipal corporations many more lakhs are part of the process. The present constitutional amendment will result in a quantum jump in the number of women gracing Parliament and State Assemblies. From a measly 40-50 women in the Parliament the number will increase to 181 in a house of 540 while the corresponding number in the Maharashtra assembly will increase from the present 11 to 96 in the house of 288. This will result in a huge and corresponding increase in the number of women entering public life at that level. This itself will set into motion several processes that will help hasten the process to end gender discrimination in all spheres of life,economic,social,educational,cultural and political. The amendment marks a milestone in the process of social reform that began with Mahatma Jyotiba and Savitri bai Phule,Raja Ram Mohan Roy,Gopal Ganesh Agarkar ,Maharshi Karve,Periyar etc and which had its core,the principle of women equality. It is also an acknowledgement of the participation of women in India’s political process from pre independence times,when women were an active and equal component not only of the freedom struggle but also the numerous struggles of peasants and workers for their rights as well as in the anti caste struggles across the country. It was in recognition of this contribution that the Drafting Committee chaired by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar enshrined the principle of social gesture and gender equality in the Constitution of India. The latest amendment will help to give substantive rights to women,directly in the political sphere,and indirectly by raising the right of women in the house.

There have been some misgivings about whether the amendments will merely result in the preponderance of upper caste and upper class (what its opponents pejoratively referred as ‘balkati’) women being elected. Firstly,since there is a provision for one-third reservation among the boards or will automatically result in one third of the seats reserved for SC and ST communities group to women. So in fact,the number of women from these categories will actually increase,because some men will automatically have to vacate their seats for women. For example,in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha the number of SC women will statutorily increase to 9 and that of ST women to 8,when there present number is hardly 2-3. As for OBC women,it must be understood that there is no statutory reservation for the OBC community at present in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha,although some states (such as Maharashtra ) have made such a provision in these local self government bodies. Infact the number of OBCs (men at present) getting elected is not unsubstantial. So reservation for women will no doubt result in more OBC women getting elected. There is genuine concern that minorities are vastly underrepresented in the present bodies. To some extent,Muslim women are getting elected where there is OBC reservation in local bodies. But this question cannot be resolved only within the confines of the Women’s Reservation Bill. Equally,there is concern about the increasing use of money and muscle power and the dominance of certain “political families” in politics. But this is a problem not just for women’s representation but a larger question of the general political culture that is becoming increasingly undemocratic. The challenge before all democratically minded citizens is how to overcome this proble. But there is no doubt that reservation for women will help break traditional barriers and lead to a greater democratisation of the Indian polity.

Kiran Moghe
(The writer is the president of All India Democratic Women’s Association,Maharashtra)