Noting that a civilised country is one which respects women, President Pranab Mukherjee said there is need for more women in decision-making structures, especially the legislature, to combat gender bias.
Delivering the 20th Annual Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation lecture on ‘Women as Agents of Change’ here on Wednesday, the President said: “While 33 per cent reservation for women at the panchayat level has had some success, representation of women at other tiers of the government is unfortunately poor.”
He said though the 74th amendment to the Constitution, which mandates 33 per cent reservation of seats for women in local municipal bodies, have ensured equal rights for women in governance, their representation in other tiers of governance at the Central and State levels are poor.
“We need more women in decision-making structures. While 33 per cent reservation for women at the panchayat level has had some success, representation of women at other tiers of the government is unfortunately poor. Women members of Parliament comprise a mere 11.3 per cent in the present Lok Sabha. This is well below the global average of 21.8 per cent and even below the Asian average of 18.4 per cent,” he said.
He quoted the report by the Association for Democratic Reform that women candidates got only an average of eight per cent of the nominations distributed by various political parties in the General Elections 2014.
The President said violence against women has taken many forms like foeticide, infanticide, acid attacks and even murder. These crimes are committed at home, in schools and even in public transport.
To tackle the violence against women, co-operation among all stakeholders is necessary, he said.
“If a society cannot respect a women, it cannot be called a civilised society,” Mr. Mukherjee said.
He said that policies and programmes to work towards gender justice like the National Commission for Women are already in place. He commended the judiciary’s contribution through the Vishaka guidelines for the fight against sexual harassment in workplace.
He pointed to how India has fared badly in removing gender-based disparities, ranking 114 out of 142 countries in World Economic Forum’s 2014 gender gap index. It had slipped 13 spots from last year and scored below average on parameters like economic participation, educational attainment and health and survival.
“You educate a man, you educate an individual. You educate a woman, you educate a generation,” Mr. Mukherjee said.
Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu, who was the guest of honour at the function, said the “laws of discrimination should be struck down”.
Referring to the recent Supreme Court order, which ended 60-year-old gender bias against women make-up artists, Chief Justice Dattu said the rule banning them from working was “obnoxious”.
