Parties must take the lead in ensuring gender equality
A modern party must encourage participation of women in politics and remove structural barriers that obstruct it
As this session of Parliament has got under way, there is anticipation for the agenda on gender equality and empowerment. The bill on Muslim women’s empowerment has already been passed in the Lok Sabha which focuses on deterring instant triple talaaq in Muslim families. Another important legislation that received much attention is the Women’s Reservation Bill.
In the current global scenario, it should be a matter of alarm that we rank at a dismal 108th in the annual Global Gender Gap Index, behind countries like China at 100th and Bangladesh at 47th. The report highlights the lack of political participation of women in the country as a major cause for the gender gap. To put this further into perspective, in the South Asian region, out of the 8 SAARC countries, India’s position is a mediocre 5th after countries like Nepal and even Afghanistan.
The question we need to ask at this juncture is whether reservation for women in parliament is enough. If the end to be achieved is to have greater representation of women in roles of socio-political leadership, then ensuring their representation in roles of political leadership needs to be just as impor- tant. A modern political party needs to have methods that encourage participation of women and remove structural barriers for women in politics where money and muscle power are known to rule.
An alternative or consecutive form of reservation could be reserving membership and candidacy for women within political parties which exist today in countries like South Africa, Germany or Sweden which have successfully increased female representation in governance through voluntary quotas by political parties. Perhaps the most significant lesson from the global experience with quotas was summarised by a Stockholm IDEA report, which concluded that, “in almost all political systems, no matter what electoral regime, it is the political parties, not the voters that constitute the real gatekeepers to elected offices.”
Having more women members in a party will force the leadership to take note of candidates with a history of insensitive comments or misconduct against women. Women with senior roles within the party can also mentor the younger generation and help them navigate the doors and ladders of political parties in India. This rule can be enforced by the Election Commission for political parties to be recognised. Hopefully through this route, the road to empowering women to enter politics will be less daunting and far shorter. An assumption can be drawn that we all seek or want happiness. But how do people around the world define it? What we try to do is to alter external circumstances (money, etc.) hoping that it will change the way we feel, without any deeper consciousness — which is what produces within us the feeling of happiness or unhappiness.
Happiness is a human experience according to the Vedas. Whenever we experience the state of happiness, we don’t hold an opinion