Just half the sky, not half the space

Jupinderjit Singh in Chandigarh

When a photo of the husband of a newly appointed minister in the Punjab Government went viral showing him sitting in her office and passing instructions, it immediately questioned women empowerment at one of the highest seats in our democratic culture.

Despite the chorus by all parties since the early 1990s for at least 33 per cent reservation for women in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, their representation is still dismal. The reservation has not been approved by Parliament where, ironically, the Bill for mandatory reservation was conveniently allowed to lapse.

Odisha has now taken a lead in the country with the BJD declaring 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha polls. A day later, the Trinamool Congress announced 41 per cent quota in seat distribution. Punjab scores poorly on this point. Women here have not got their due share in politics. Only six women MLAs, less than five per cent, figure in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. The ruling Congress and the main Opposition have three MLAs each. The number has come down drastically from 14 women MLAs in 2012. The ratio is poorer in the representation to the Lok Sabha from the state. Among the 13 MPs, just one is woman (SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal).

Harsimrat may have still got it easy, but Nimisha Mehta, a Congress leader from Doaba region, says it is a tough and steep hike for a woman from non-political background. Mehta was among the shortlisted candidates for tickets during the last Assembly elections, but missed it. She is a prominent spokesperson of the party and had taken on the SAD-BJP regime via protests and demonstrations.

“For the first few years, you are dismissed as a novice. Often, other leaders try to corner you by grilling you on some issue you have raised. They tend to humiliate you by checking if you know what they are talking about. One survives by talking in a stern and rough language with officers. A pretty face matters, but it is your intellect and wisdom which finally counts,” she says.

Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, AAP MLA and deputy leader of Opposition, believes new parties that emerge from people’s movement for a real change in politics can deliver on the promise of women empowerment. “As women are more committed, understanding and honest, they make better leaders.”

However, she points out that a woman has to balance home and professional life even if she is a politician. “Politics demands long working hours and you are almost always in public. You have people waiting at your home, or have functions and long party meetings to attend. Politics demands more from a woman,” she says. More women at the helm in states and at the Centre might make things a little easier at home.

Veteran politician Laxmi Kanta Chawla says reservation for women has to be encouraged, but real leaders do not need it. “So many women have emerged as top leaders without any reservation. Any woman can be a leader if she stands by principles, works hard and does not keep looking for a godfather. Reservation will ensure that even if we don’t find a good candidate the first time, some women will come up in the next election.”

AAP MLA and Leader of Opposition, Harpal Cheema provides a male perspective to the issue: “Reservation is OK, but there is shortage of women leaders in all constituencies. They have been discouraged for long and it will take time even after reservation to find real leaders. The true success of women reservation would be when women leaders emerge from among common people. The AAP has shown the way. We are the only party with 15 per cent women MLAs in the house. All three of them come from humble backgrounds and bear no previous connect with politics,” he says.

Promila Kanwar, a PhD in Women Empowerment in Politics, says case studies suggest that it is relatively easier for women from politically connected families to contest or win an election. “They have a ready platform and structure in place to prop them up. But the flip side is that many of these leaders remain rubber stamps only. Their husbands or other male relatives dominate them. The term ‘sarpanch pati’ has evolved out of this dominance only. It may not matter much if the woman is educated or not as she is often reminded that domestic duties are her priority. However, many non-political family leaders have also made a mark through sheer hard work and taking up issues they firmly believe in.”