the three main political parties- Congress,
BJP & the Left. Despite having a comfortable
2/3rd majority (which is the requirement
to amend the constitution) the government
still failed to pass the bill. The bill
is expected to come up for voting tomorrow
(Tuesday) & the PM is hoping that this
time it will be able to clear the voting
process. The Samajwadi & RJD’s
demand is to include quota within a quota
for the women belonging to the backward
class. Their contention is that this bill
will equip the Brahmins to hegemonize the
parliament & that will lead to further
inequality. Their argument has some merit
and should be factored, given that out of
the total women parliamentarians only 20%
belong to the backward class while over
50% are from the upper class. Ironically,
the leader of the ruling UPA and leader
of the main opposition BJP are women.
But at this stage the introduction of this
bill is a landmark achievement considering
that women are very poorly represented in
the parliament. History is a testimony that
reservation for women in the past has seen
a huge transformation in their daily lives.
For instance from 1993, when one-third seats
for all local body structures were reserved
for women sparked a change in the lives
of thousand of women residing in the villages.
The cruel reality still remains that women
in India continue to suffer and are victims
of sexual assault, molestation, violence
etc.
Politically the three parties that will
benefit the most from this bill are Congress,
BJP & the Left. All these parties have
active women wings and this latest move
will give them maximum political mileage.
But the larger picture still remains that
this is the right step forward that will
empower the women of this country. Quota
within a quota is something which the government
will have to introduce sooner or later to
make this bill effective & fair which
is the primary objective.
India can never emerge as the super-power
of this century unless the other half of
this country is empowered and is on the
same level. This bill might not change the
lives of Indian women drastically but atleast
it will reduce the agony & suffering
which they have endured for centuries.
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