Last week a van mounted with some gut-wrenching photographs of acid attack victims roamed the streets of Madurai as part of a 16-day mobile campaign on violence against women. Rolled out on November 25 by EKTA, a centre for counselling and training women and youth, it coincided with the South Asian Women’s Day on November 30 and its related international fortnight campaign.
The Ekta Founder-Director Bimla Chandrasekar says the idea behind the mobile campaign is to mainstream the continuing mindless violence against women and remind people how it weakens the society. She has a point. So did another young girl. Staring at the photos when the van was stationed outside the venue of the function, she made a telling comment: “Everybody says women should come forward on their own. But in reality this does not and cannot happen.” Her elder sister, she later revealed, was a dowry victim.
Inside the venue, 60-odd women representing NGOs from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry lit candles and pledged to stand in solidarity, promote peace and human rights, challenge violence and demand social justice. It was a beautiful moment – of one voice, one force.
Every year, November 30 is marked and celebrated by listening to the voices of South Asian Women, their belief in gender-justice, peace and democracy. The South Asian Feminist Network, Sangat, created this day in 2002 and ever since men and women in different cities of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka gather to express solidarity with the people of the region.
“This year was no different,” says Bimla, “given the deep crisis and challenges we face on multiple fronts.” If governments and society want to fight the divisive forces in the region, it is absolutely essential to mainstream the concerns of women. And this, she says, is a critical time to raise our voice in favour of the Women’s Reservation Bill pending for 17 years.
In view of the upcoming 2014 Lok Sabha elections, EKTA, Madurai and New Delhi-based Centre for Social Research and Women Power Connect have networked for a national campaign, “The Time For 33 Per cent Coalition”. “It is time political parties and their leaders demonstrated their commitment to women’s rights and gender equality and make their stand clear on the floor of the House this Winter Session,” asserts Bimla.
There is always an overdose of expectation with the Women’s Reservation Bill.
While accepting that it is politically correct to endorse the Bill, parties have failed to ensure its smooth passage in the Lok Sabha. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010.
The doublespeak and hypocrisy of politicians have rendered the Bill into an empowerment muddle. As Bimla points out, voters do not show discrimination against women candidates, only the political party bosses do.
There are two aspects to the Women’s Reservation Bill that seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies – the principle of reservation and the practical application of it. Several organisations like EKTA, across the country have proactively worked on 33 per cent to 50 per cent reservation in the Panchayati Raj system with success. “This,” Bimla adds, “demonstrates that similar reservations in the Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies is possible and will successfully facilitate women’s participation in every public sphere.”
Women make up 48 per cent of the country’s population and 47.5 per cent of the registered voting population but hold only 11 per cent of Lower House seats and 10.6 per cent of Upper House seats in the Parliament and only four women hold ministerial positions.
“If women’s political participation improves, it will lead to more inclusive and gender-sensitive governance and gender discrimination will reduce,” says Bimla.
While the activists and feminists have taken the Bill across the country to explain what it contains and how it will benefit the gender and the country’s democracy and have also simultaneously launched an online campaign calling upon Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh to pass the Bill, one hopes this session of Parliament does not again pass off as a matter of posturing on the issue and nothing more.
