March 24 : A few days ago a statement by Lalu Prasad Yadav appeared in the press — he was asserting that the Women’s Reservation Bill would be passed by Parliament only over his dead body. One would have thought that an experienced politician like Mr Yadav would not be so
irresponsible as to claim the right of veto for his party that has just four members of Parliament out of a total of 543, that too over a bill supported by all major parties in the Lok Sabha. The respect some leaders in India have for the basic principles of democracy was evident.
Leaders of political parties who are demanding quota within quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Muslims, like the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Samajwadi Party (SP) etc., did not threaten in a similar way when the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were made in 1992. The 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution of India provided for reservation of seats (at least one-third) in panchayats and municipalities for women. These parties never showed any such zeal while nominating candidates for elections to Parliament or state legislatures. Even in filling up senior posts within their party, one does not see any special consideration being given to OBC or Muslim women.
Having said that, no impartial observer can absolve the Congress of its share of blame for the controversy surrounding the Women’s Reservation Bill. It has become a regular practice for the Congress to present very important and sensitive proposals for legislation without bothering to hold consultations even with the leaders of the most important political parties.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s announcement in Parliament that the government will be holding an all-party meeting came only when a determined group in the Opposition made it impossible for Parliament to transact regular business. If the government had made such a move well before the issue erupted, it would have helped create the atmosphere for calmer discussions in Parliament.
More unfortunate is the fact that certain Congress leaders appear to be keen on taking all the credit for the introduction of the bill exclusively for their party. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was generous enough to acknowledge that the bill could be passed in the Rajya Sabha because of the support of major Opposition parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left. But some Congress leaders appear to be interested only in using the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha as another opportunity for heaping praise on Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Again, the sharpness of the opposition to the bill could have been blunted substantially if the Congress had launched a public information campaign on the merits of the bill. It should have explained to the people before the introduction of the bill that what the government was trying to do was what several other countries in the West and even some developing countries had already done in order to make the right to equality more relevant for women.
Ordinary people in our country are not even aware of the fact that in a democracy some form of quota for women in the legislature has been recognised as a basic right of women. The percentage of reservation may vary from country to country and the methods used for quota may also vary, but the principle of quota for women is accepted by many developed and developing countries.
The ways adopted by these countries for implementing the quota system for women are through provisions in the Constitution, through legislation and through political parties. Countries where quotas for women have been fixed either through the Constitution or through national legislation include South Africa (percentage of women in Parliament 43), Argentina (41.6 per cent), Costa Rica (38.6 per cent), Belgium (36.7 per cent), Spain (36.3 per cent), and Tanzania (36.4 per cent).
In India, quota for women through political parties may not be advisable as most of our political parties lack inner party democracy and, therefore, quotas implemented through them may result in giving the party high command a virtual monopoly in nominating all the candidates for reserved seats. In countries where political parties work in a strictly democratic manner, quotas through parties have proved to be quite successful. A few examples are Sweden (47.3 per cent), Norway (37.9 per cent), Netherlands (36.7 per cent), Austria (26.7 per cent), Germany (31.8 per cent).
I would like to raise a point here about the objectives that can be achieved through increased representation of women in the legislature, particularly in Parliament, in a country like ours. The phrase “empowerment” is very commonly used to describe the main objective of reservation for women in Parliament. However, the agitators for increased representation of women in legislatures should also face the reality that the manner in which Parliament works (or does not work) these days does not give much scope for such empowerment. The fact that Parliament has not been able to meet even for 100 days a year because of disruptions is a serious dampener on such expectations.
The right to represent a constituency of voters in Parliament is certainly a great privilege, but unless women are also helped to liberate themselves from the various disadvantages they suffer from in our society, “empowerment” will continue to remain a meaningless word.
The low percentage of girls in schools and the high rate of dropout among girls, particularly in rural areas, perpetuates the disadvantage of women as a class. And in spite of all the talk about women’s education being a top priority, the lack of educational facilities for female children remains a major hurdle. The absence of proper medical facilities in rural areas, particularly at the time of childbirth, has led to intolerably high rates of maternal and infant mortality in India. The increasing trend of alcoholism among men folk in certain states is becoming a serious problem affecting the dignity of women in homes. In panchayats and municipal councils where seats are reserved for women, a trend has been noticed where the husband or other relatives of the woman elected function in their place.
These are only some of the many reasons that inhibit empowerment of women in India. Of course, these should not become arguments for not giving priority to increasing the representation of women in Parliament. They are mentioned here only to emphasise the fact that removal of gross disadvantages for women in our society is as important as their increased representation in our legislatures.
By P.C. Alexander
P.C. Alexander is a former governor of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra
