In the age of aggressive feminism and equality, why are we still debating about the reservation issue?
A tweet on Womens’ day read– “Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm over Women’s Reservation Bill – isn’t it ironic, this on Women’s day?” And this got me thinking- so what’s the big deal about it? And I refer here both to the parliament as well as the bill. Politicians stomping out of and disrupting the parliament is as common as swine flu cases these days and fights over bills and propositions can be dated back to the prehistoric era.
So what is it about the women issue that has got everyone talking? Well, for one, this only goes on to emphasize how everything about women, from nudity to reservation, tends to get over-hyped in this country.
And while media attention can sometimes bring about common good to our sex, it can be equally disgraceful and demeaning at others. However, all that endless feminist debate apart, my question is that why do we need the reservation at all?
We have had enough of the history of how women have forever been suppressed and need the upliftment etc. But are we sure that providing a few seats in the parliament is the correct need analysis or an egalitarian cure? I’m not so sure.
Lets see how fair this bill will be for the fairer sex. For one, there will be more women MPs occupying the hot seats, and given the well proven things like commitment levels being high amongst women will certainly do our governance a lot of good. Beyond that- I really can see little logic to it, (except ofcourse that it will create a great vote-bank.)
If we really want more female voices in the parliament, then is just labeling some chairs as “for women” the solution? If yes, then we should be prepared to see wives of politicians, and women with criminal cases and some more with caste politics (much like our male counterparts) hammering their way into the parliament. My contention is that how does gender alone entitle you to power?
Instead, it should be you, your education, your intellect and your good sense that should make you deserve the seat, things you can control, things that differentiate you from others, and not something like gender which is beyond everyone’s control. If we want to see more women representation, lets make our women capable, lets make the path to that place a bit easier. Instead of just putting women in the parliament, lets make women reach there on the strength of their own capability.
Come to think of it- lets see who are the most respected women politicians that we have today or have had? Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit, Ambika Soni, Priya Dutt, Mamata Banerjee, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Agatha Sangma – apart from the respect and recognition (even though highly regional in some cases) the other thing that is common between these women is that they are all well educated people, who hold their positions thanks to their merit and have struggled to make a mark for themselves.
Yes, like in any other profession, parentage has had its role to play. But then , it is not just that which has made these women respected. And they indeed have done tremendous good in areas it mattered. On the other hand, we also have women who lay claim to power on the basis of dirty caste wars and ugly gender politics, and well, we pretty much know if sane people respect or look upto that sort.
Yes, Im totally of the view that we should have more female representation- everywhere and not just in politics alone, but we should start at the bottom and not at the top. We should provide the women of this country with education, the security, the assurance and the confidence it takes to scale up the ladder.
Instead of making them greedy and uneducated and easily made politicians lets give them safe roads and egalitarian education. Instead of giving them a seat, lets give them the road to reach that seat.
What we need is the means, and not the end. For as is often said, power obtained without struggle and skill is sure to be misused.
hoi bits..nice piece…try reading plato (if you havent already), dnt remember where exactly he talked about the mode to elect the person who shall then be elected to politics in an absolute democracy. his is a very ideal view..rather impossible because of its presuppositions on the psychological platform, but it mostly deals with the same issue, that of politics and things related to it. not of gender. the idea is quite nice. but in all there is something that we need to look at..today 70 percent of the nation is actually ruled by nexals..a hard truth but never the less an important factor when it comes to politics. you are right that we should not be talking about reservation and instead about education and upliftment…”make good citizens of them all and they will make good politicians of the country”. But keeping history and its examples in mind the first rule of absolute conquest is to stop education (bihar when laloo came to power)…and psychologically only an educated person promotes education. besides a few exceptions, and in cases of the exceptions the product becomes an anomaly of two conflicting worlds giving rise to the will to power and hence its misuse, Alexander the great being one example of the many. So lineage as you say does make a whole lot of difference. a lot of the philosophers have hence stated that monarchy is the best form of government (i do not agree! though i myself am not convinced of the the validy or success of any other form)…and anaxamines i think had stated that greece and sparta should be ruled by monarchy but this should not be based on lineage. which was later adopted by the romans and thus came ceaser the general, who ofcourse once he came to power turned it upside down (another problem there)…so ofcourse nothing can be controlled…because all things float in space from one civil war to another…this country instead of education or reservation, or even its politics, needs a civil war…unless someone like you chooses to get into politics…and not alone you…atleast a hundred other such people, until then there will not be made even an iota of difference as to who is elected…hypothetically: if you come into power, then you will see to it that things change and wont give up until they actually do, but if there is only you, then by the time things actually turn to look a little brighter, you will be put in the opposition, and everything will be undone, so even the opposition should rise to the same platform, the same scale of thought, and that can not be done in the existing system..(i know i have taken your womens issue to another level, but actually i think the parent issue is this, and if this is corrected, all other things shall stand corrected themselves)…hence the hundreds of other politicians should also be changed…dont get me wrong…i knw that is not a solution, but in a barbarian age, barbarianism is the only thing that can overrule the barbarians themselves…i dont know if i am right or wrong…but we can debate i guess! (i will get to learn and probably will stand corrected)…
Your list of most respected women politicians is highly controversial. For me, most of them belong to the dirty gang of politicians. Sonia Gandhi? What great has she done for India that grants her the power to be an unofficial CEO of India Inc?
Sheila Dixit? She perhaps has done some decent work but only for the rich and affluent class of national capital. Sushma Swaraj was much better.
Why don’t we have leaders like Meneka Gandhi or Kiran Bedia at the top?
Yes, we should provide the women of this country with education, the security, the assurance and the confidence it takes to scale up the ladder. There is a need to create a system where knowledge, skills and aspiration should make the entire difference. Man or Women, should not matter.