Opinion No short cuts to equality

In one aspect at least the bill is retrogressive. Instead of attempting to put women on an equal footing with men,it will actually segregate them for ever. Reserving a third of the seats exclusively for women means that in the future women will be confined to reserved seats,and will be pitted only against other women. Women’s reservations,whether it takes the form of separate queues for tickets or seats in buses and legislatures,is an open acknowledgement of “weaker sex” status. Not an ideal way to bring about women’s emancipation. A more progressive method would be to enforce the rule that all political parties reserve at least 33 per cent of their seats for women. Another downside is that the women’s percentage in legislatures will be permanently capped at 33.

More than for all other quotas,there is a danger in women’s reservations that the creamy layer usurp the bulk of the privileges. If one takes a look at women in key positions in politics today,it is clear that most of them are there because of connections. Of the five most influential women in politics today only two,Sushma Swaraj and Mayawati,have made it on their own steam. Sonia Gandhi became leader of the Congress because she married into the party’s first family. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had a smooth and comfortable transition from the IFS to the political arena because she was Babu Jagjivan Ram’s daughter. President Pratibha Patil owes her place in politics to the fact she was the daughter of an influential Congress leader from Maharashtra. Among the central ministers,apart from Ambika Soni and Lakshmi Panabaka,all the others had a powerful male figure to give them a headstart. Kumari Selja and D. Purandeshwari had important political figures as their fathers,Krishna Tirath had a father-in-law in politics and Preneet Kaur her politician husband. Much is made of Agatha Sangma’s elevation as minister at the age of 28,but she owes her good fortune mainly to her father,P.A. Sangma.

JD (U) President Sharad Yadav’s objection to reservations for women is that urban,upper class women — whom he terms par katis,those with hair cut short,will walk away with the lion’s share,and the deserving self-made women from poor,rural backgrounds — such as the JD(U) MP Ashwamedh Devi,who has studied only till the eighth grade — will be left behind. The Congress,in particular,has a preponderance of women MPs from elite backgrounds. An exception is the earnest,dedicated,Meenakshi Natarajan,who came up the hard way. Self-made women are a rarity.

The argument is not that privileged women should not be allowed to stand for election — but should they be given a leg up at the expense of men,who might have struggled much harder to make it?

For the last 13 years,political parties have been talking about the Women’s Reservation Bill,but the bill has never been put to vote. This is because there is a sharp divide between the publicly stated postures of some parties and the actual views of the majority of their male members. The bill,after all,will take away the chances of many male MPs for re-election,and it will also prevent them from retaining the same constituency for more than two terms. (A very important factor for parliamentarians who have spent their lifetime nursing their constituencies.)

This time,however,it will be difficult for the government to retreat. The main opposition parties,the BJP and the CPM,have made it clear that they will support the bill and so have most of the Congress’ allies in the UPA. The two-thirds majority that is required to amend the constitution seems within grasp. The cabinet has cleared the legislation and,more importantly,Sonia Gandhi has put her full weight behind the long-talked about measure. The significance of introducing the bill in the Rajya Sabha on Monday,the centenary of International Women’s Day,cannot be lost on anyone.

coomi.kapoor@expressindia.com