Empowering Women

 The analysis of election data about women elected representatives reveals that women have expanded their representation to unreserved seats. The important question that needs to be probed further is the relationship between the ‘politics of presence’ of women and the ways in which these are translated into meaningful processes in the decentralization of democracy and engendering of development and politics

The Indian Parliament has finally enacted a law providing for one third gender quota in Parliament and State Assemblies after a series of unsuccessful initiatives for nearly three decades. UN Women India, a global champion for the empowerment of women and girls, applauded the Reservation Act, and hopes it will “leapfrog India into one of 64 countries” who have reserved seats for women. Conceptually, quotas represent a shift from one concept of equality of opportunity to the concept of equality with emphasis on results, ‘a sort of fast track method’, ‘a qualitative jump into a policy of exact goals and means.’ More than one hundred countries across the world including Pakistan and sub-Saharan African countries have introduced reservation. According to a UN Women report, it has been possible to have 40 per cent women in legislatures in 23 countries through the introduction of a quota system. In countries such as France, South Korea, and Nepal, a quota as high as 50 per cent has been reserved for women. Under-representation of women in democratic bodies like Parliament around the globe has been an issue of open debate and discussion ever since the Women Development Decade (1975-85) initiated at the instance of United Nations, brought to light that the scales of world equality are out of balance ~ men ride high on power while women are endowed with responsibilities. The Human Development Report 1995 made a strong plea for engendering development by correcting gender equality, without which development will be endangered Scholars like Anne Phillips have argued that ‘women bring different types of skill in politics and provide role models for future generations’. Besides, their inclusion in politics facilitates representation of the specific interest of women in state policy, and revitalises democracy by bridging the gap between representation and participation. It can also help in reducing gender inequality, and thus promote one of the key sustainable development goals and bring about an improvement on women’s health, well-being and overall quality of life. In India the protagonists of a quota in Parliament believe that it will add a new dimension to the debates and discussions and it will bring a more ‘civil pattern’ of interactions Besides, larger numbers of women will mobilize and help redirect the political agenda towards greater social good and reduction of corruption. These are proved by empirical studies conducted in panchayats. Historically speaking, Sarojini Naidu and Margaret Cousins led a group of women to demand before the British Parliament equal rights of representation for the fair sex in the Indian Provincial Legislatures long ago. The Second Round Table Conference (1931) took cognizance of it but ended without positive results because of lack of consensus. Our Constitution seeks to guarantee equality in different Articles including provision for positive discrimination (Article 15.3). In the Constituent Assembly women leaders did not demand quota because political equality and complete universal suffrage was now offered to all citizens. Women activists perceived it ‘as a retrograde step’. Despite the absence of the perception of women as actors in development in almost all the Plan documents, it was the National Perspective Plan for Women which argued for introducing a 30 per cent quota for women at all levels of elective bodies. In 1992, twin constitutional amendments accepted one third gender quota in all local bodies. Now there are nearly 46 per cent women in panchayat bodies. More significantly, during the last few years, 20 states have amended their legislations to make room for 50 per cent reservation of seats for women in rural local bodies. The studies have brought quite a few dominant challenges which elected women leaders in panchayats are experiencing. They can be located at three levels, namely individual and family, society and polity and law and institutions. At the individual level lack of experience in participation in political institutions has emerged as an important factor. At the social and political level there is a strong tradition of patriarchy which gives birth to a new class of male village leaders popularly known as sarpanch pati, sarpanch sasur, sarpanch bhai and sarpanch jeth. Political Weekly, Vol 32 (26): WS13-20, April 26-May 2, 19 conducted on women members of 84 GPs in Kerala found that apart from education and land holdings, other variables like age, occupation, and income are crucial for women to enter into politics. Arora and Prabhakar (1997) in their study focused on why some females are more interested in politics and found that women representatives who were highly educated and were from upper caste or dominant castes were more interested in politics. They also pointed out that women representatives who often met and discussed with their friends had significant political interest. Further, Nilekani (2010) found domestic violence against women, wage disparities, sexual harassment and abuse, discrimination in the supplement of nutrition, and low female literacy rates to be widely prevalent in India. Significantly, women have been able to bring about some change in the popular social perception about them ~ that they are incapable of running the government ~ by dint of their remarkable performance. Studies have exploded the popular perception that women are not interested in politics. The analysis of election data about women elected representatives reveals that women have expanded their representation to unreserved seats. The important question that needs to be probed further is the relationship between the ‘politics of presence’ of women and the ways in which these are translated into meaningful processes in the decentralization of democracy and engendering of development and politics. Major obstacles to women’s participation in the public domain in South Asia, as American sociologist Gail Omvedt has observed, can be traced to patrilineal and patrilocal kinship structures where women get ‘socialised to be mothers, wives and workers under others’ authority’. The competitive nature of politics where it becomes a profitable source of income and power that men tend to control appears to be another hindrance. Ideally, what we need are more efforts to collectively mobilise not only women, but also men in support of greater equality. Scandinavia presents the most hopeful case. If we go back 100 years there, we observe a radical activism jump-started by women but with great support from men as well. That was the secret of their success. If properly implemented the gender quotas stand out prominently as an effective strategy of positive discrimination even in the so-called Least Developed Countries in Sub Saharan Africa, such as, Rwanda, Burundi, and Mozambique. According to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index 2023, women hold 61.3 per cent of Rwanda’s Parliament, a first in the world for women’s representation in the national parliament. The empirical studies on local bodies in India bring out that hard rock patriarchy is the most dominant challenge. True, it cannot be broken overnight but the fact remains as evident from studies on the local bodies that women have started collecting rock-breaking chemicals although the process is still very slow because of patriarchal resistance. The decade of the 1990s marked political churning which led to some mainstreaming of the marginalised sections including women as reflected in the debates on the women’s reservation bills. Earlier undifferentiated reservation was opposed on the ground that reservation would continue the perpetuation of upper caste domination which is the breeding ground of the leaders; while it has some substance, the fact remains that regular democratic seed-drilling at the local level weakens the caste system, and in course of time, women from lower castes will emerge as leaders. The provision for gender quota gives women a piece of land which belongs to them as a group. The construction of houses is now the most challenging job. Rabindranath Tagore raised this issue in Strir Patra and Jogajog. ‘Kumudini and Mrinal needed a house of their own where they will be enjoying some freedom’. Around the same time, in 1929, Virginia Woolf hinted at the same thing in her A Room of One’s Own. Will the ‘patriarchal’ state come forward to help women construct their houses? It is very difficult for the state any longer to ignore the demand of women because democracy is a game of numbers. In the villages and towns where more than one-third women live, the process of challenging patriarchy has already begun. Women, who are more enlightened today, matter.

FR. JOHN FELIX RAJ & PRABHAT KUMAR DATTA

 respectively, Vice Chancellor of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Xavier Law School, St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata

Source: 2/12/23, The statesman

Return to theory

 

Women in India need to study both tradition and modernity to formulate a just social order. This is important as most media discussions are regarding making women's reservation bill a reality

The Indian Parliament recently passed the landmark women’s reservation bill, which guarantees a third of the seats in the lower House of Parliament and state assemblies for women. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha during the special session of Parliament held on its new premises.

Following this historic moment, we should also focus on the women’s movement in the West and the contribution of feminist philosophers like Susan Moller Okin. Okin’s remarkable essay, “Reason and Feeling in Thinking about Justice”, exposes the various layers of discrimination against women in Western philosophy and society. She displays her expertise in identifying, approaching and dealing with archival material as she examines the politics of discrimination.

Indian women, too, need to return to theory and carefully evaluate the women’s reservation bill. The reason is twofold. First, to identify the underlying relation between texts and practices and acknowledge the contribution of feminism in the West. Second, to suggest the need to look, with an open and critical mind, at the theory and practices concerning women in Indian society.

Feminism in the West extended the modern ideals of individual rights, equality and rationality to criticise patriarchy in traditional society. It excavated and unearthed the surreptitious continuation of patriarchy in modernity and tradition. Okin’s essay takes up the challenging task of fighting against visible patriarchy in the classical philosophies and its continuation, albeit disguised, within modernity.

Okin closely examines the wri­tings of modern philosopher, Immanuel Kant, and the continuation of his impact on contemporary philosophers like John Rawls. She uncovers the underlying architecture in these influential writings and exposes how modern philosophers like Kant based morality on rationality.

They based morality on tangible rationality, moving away from the earlier practice in metaphysics where morality was founded on transcendental aspects like Plato’s Ideals or God in Christianity. This was a significant contribution to modern morality and is recognised in mainstream scholarship as one of the achievements of modernity.

However, what Okin explores is the other side, or the extensions of these foundations, by Kant. She points out that while he has not discriminated between the sexes in his major writings, he subscribes to the gender division in his minor pieces in earlier and later works.

Okin demonstrates that while founding morality on reason, Kant excludes non-rational aspects such as feelings and emotions from its domain. He insists that “no moral principle is based… on any feeling whatsoever.” According to Kant, modern morality is based exclusively on rationality. Thus far, there is no problem.

The problem arises when he links women with non-rational feelings and emotions, associating only males with rationality, which is the foundation of morality. Women’s “philosophy is not to reason, but to sense,” Okin quotes from Kant’s Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime. He states that a married woman is necessarily subjected to her husband and a legal minor. “To make oneself behave like a minor,” Kant says, “degrading as it may be, is, nevertheless, very comfortable.” In a tongue-in-cheek way, Okin states, “It is not difficult to tell, from such remarks, where women stand (perhaps it is more appropriate to say ‘where women sit’) on Kant’s moral scale.”

Okin’s ingenuity lies in moving our gaze from the foundations of modern morality to its extensions. This is where the actual politics of modernity concerning women is exposed. These extensions include associating males with rationality and dissociating women from it. This disguised patriarchy has severe implications for women. While founding morality on reason is radical, excluding women from rationality and forcing them outside the domain of morality is deeply problematic.

The contribution of feminists like Okin lies in their scrutiny of the texts to identify these shocking extensions. Presenting this other picture of Kant and modernity shocked scholars of Kant and modernity.

In the context of the women’s reservation bill, Okin’s excellent philosophical work should inspire us to reflect on the dominant traditions in India and the West and to take this as a catalyst for understanding the claims and counterclaims about the status of women in India, both in text and in practice.

On the positive side, Okin does not seek parity with males by claiming that women, too, are rational. Instead, she sees virtue in moral ideals such as benevolence and parental love that are considered non-rational and excluded from the domain of morality. For children, the family is their “first [example] of human interaction,” if based on “equality and reciprocity rather than on dependence and domination,” it can shape their morality. And by extension, this can provide the basis for “larger communities within which people are supposed to develop fellow feelings for each other.”

Women in India thus need to carefully study both tradition and modernity and contribute to formulating a just social order. This is important as most of the discussions in the media are regarding the agency of making the bill a reality. Unfortunately, there is less about content and challenges before women in the changed scenario with more representation. Reading Western feminism is not to borrow or blindly imitate the West, making India its extension. While learning from the West, India must significantly modify modernity and tradition. What has been achieved is not enough, but how to take the unfinished other aspects is an open question. This also includes more significant problems such as corruption, exploitation and discrimination.

A. Raghuramaraju

Source: Telegraph India, 9/10/23

It’s time to act, period: There is no room for debate on menstrual leave

 

Much of the criticism of the menstrual leave policy is myopic. It fails to acknowledge the lasting impact such a policy could have on the overall physical and mental wellness of citizens.

On January 24, The Indian Express carried an editorial (‘Time to talk period’) laying out “both benefits and costs” of a mandatory menstrual leave policy, specifically at the workplace. Speaking to the social and economic implications of such a policy, it says, “a special period leave could become another excuse for discrimination”. In my opinion, the path to equality does not lie in inaction due to fear of further discrimination. What is needed is a holistic outlook aimed at bridging existing gaps. Much of the criticism of the menstrual leave policy is myopic. It fails to see the lasting impact such a policy could have on the overall physical and mental wellness of Indian citizens.

Period leave is often seen as “medicalising a normal biological process”. Though menstruation is a biological process, it is accompanied by cramps, nausea, back and muscle pains, headaches, etc. Additionally, these can take a debilitating form amongst menstruating people who suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis. In India, 20 per cent of menstruators (an inclusive term referring to women, trans men, and non-binary persons who menstruate) have PCOS and approximately 25 million suffer from endometriosis. The intensity of pain can vary for individuals for a variety of reasons. The bottom line is: For many menstruators, it is a biological process intertwined with medical symptoms. Mandatory period leave is an affirmative action policy that acknowledges this reality.

The adoption of voluntary “menstrual leave” policies by some companies in recent years has led to a widespread conversation on periods in India. When the Bihar government implemented a period leave policy in 1992, it was termed “special leave for women” due to the stigma attached to the word “menstruation”. The recent initiative by employers to provide period leave has been discussed and debated in the public sphere, thereby normalising the conversation around menstruation to an extent. The Kerala government’s announcement to grant menstrual leave to all female students of state universities is a welcome move that takes the discourse a step further — into educational institutions. It is also a space wherein the policy can be implemented without the criticism that it will financially burden employers. It should be replicated across universities and schools in India. This will also help reduce the drop-out rates of female students from government schools in rural India caused by the lack of clean toilets, running water, sanitary pads, etc.

The major opposition to a menstrual leave policy is the fear of bias in hiring due to the financial costs to employers. It is often equated to the decline in the labour force participation of women following the introduction of mandatory paid maternity leave. Discriminatory hiring has been a cause of concern in many countries. This has stirred up conversations that have eventually led to the implementation of equitable policies.

In many European and North American countries, mandatory paid paternity leaves, parental leave (shared by both parents), and remote/flexible working hours for parents with children under 12 years of age are provided. Additionally, some governments provide financial support to employers to help cover the costs of paying employees on maternity/parental leave. There are also stringent penalties for discrimination in the hiring/promotion of pregnant persons as well as those on maternity/parental leave.

Similar equitable solutions can be considered in the implementation of the menstrual leave policy in India. Employers should be made to introduce a mandatory “self-care leave” as an alternative to period leaves for those who cannot avail of the latter. The same logistical benefits should apply to both policies. Employees should be able to utilise their “self-care leave” as they deem fit. This will reduce burnout and increase productivity. The names “menstrual leave” and “self-care leave” will also destigmatise menstruation and self-care respectively. Further, employers should be made to implement a stringent diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) framework.

A widely accepted menstrual health framework can also ameliorate the conditions of female workers in the unorganised sector. In Maharashtra’s Beed district, contractors in the sugarcane industry do not hire anyone who menstruates. More than 10,000 female sugarcane cutters have had to surgically remove their uteri to secure work. Most of them are in their twenties and thirties, and now experience various post-surgery health complications. Such exploitation is a human rights violation. A formal menstrual leave policy in the organised sector can act as a catalyst in safeguarding menstruators in the unorganised sector too.

Menstrual health is a public health issue. Considering the sizable population of menstruators in India who face stigma, period leave cannot be dismissed anymore as a “foreign concept”. It is a pivotal step in ensuring proper reproductive health equity in India.

Written by Angellica Aribam

Source: Indian Express, 3/02/23

India@75, Looking at 100: Women must be empowered to take charge of their lives

 

In the country of the future, every woman from a disadvantaged background must have the same access and information as a woman coming from privilege does

India at 100, for me, will be progressively occupied by the spirit of women. It is the expanse where we’ve transcended from the on-paper legal and constitutional utopia envisioned for women to a space where every woman’s enterprise and individuality are recognised and she is free from the shackles of hackneyed traditions, distorted social perceptions, and contradictory standards of morality.

There are no two opinions on the fact that women have progressed since Independence. We now understand and acknowledge that the nation cannot progress if half of it is held back. From laws enabling women to own property and safeguard their interests, to being economically independent and leaving their mark in the business space, Indian women have seized the reins and developed a vision in tune with global developments.

As we march towards the 100th year of our Independence, the increasing recognition being given to a comprehensive system of growth must be marked by two factors — not just how and how many women perform, but also how gender-inclusive and representative institutions are and can become. Only 15 and 14 per cent of MPs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively, are women; 11 women feature in the council of ministers; just 26 per cent of the selected candidates for Civil Services were women; only 23.3 per cent are in the labour force; only 20.37 per cent are MSME owners; only 10 per cent of start-ups in India have women founders; and women only contribute 18 per cent to the nation’s GDP. The discussion now needs to evolve to understand the “whys” along with the “whats” embedded in percentages or numbers. The debate around women’s participation must progress beyond the currently used metric of assessing the availability of opportunities, solutions, and avenues, which is, in my opinion, a unidirectional approach. A more holistic approach would entail an assessment of the comprehensiveness, feasibility, applicability, and accessibility of resolutions — whether in the form of a law, policy or directive — to propel women towards a promising future. At the same time, every step in this direction must have social justice, equality, and inclusivity at its heart. We need to strive to ensure that every woman from a disadvantaged background has the same access to empowering measures as a woman coming from privilege does. We need more regional voices in strategic policy-making decisions, more rural women taking control of their economic decisions, and more women overcoming impediments and climbing the leadership ladder. We need to keep reiterating the same question: What is being done for the women in the country, and is it adequate? A policy is only good as the number of lives it impacts.

Tamil Nadu and its history are laced with the impactful legacies of leaders like Thanthai Periyar, C N Annadurai, and Kalaignar M Karunanidhi, who were not only proponents of equality and social justice for women but also set up practical examples for India and the world to emulate. Not only did Kalaignar discuss issues affecting Indian widows in his screenplays, but he also announced financial assistance schemes for them. He instituted the Women Entrepreneurs Scheme, the Women’s Small Trade Loan with Savings Scheme, reservations for women in government jobs and panchayat elections, marriage and maternity benefits, and other policies that have catapulted Tamil Nadu onto the path of development. His vision is what Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has been furthering.

In the next 25 years, I hope for egalitarianism and justice to be the light of the nation. I fervently hope that we catapult more women forward, not only by empowering them to take charge of their lives, but also to impact the lives of thousands of other women, thereby initiating a cycle that creates space for inclusivity, empowerment, and development.

Written by T Sumathy

Source: Indian Express, 1/02/23