Anything for Women Empowerment

There are few temptations that are irresistible. Since the entire country seems to be talking about women’s reservation bill, I couldn’t resist adding my 2 cents. First things first, let me say that I am happy that the women’s reservation bill got passed in the Rajya Sabha. There is a buzz everywhere and all the ‘breaking news’ on all the TV channels was that history was created. Though, I am not sure if that’s going to change things on the ground.

Probably I am naïve. Or, I could be a cynic. According to me the hullabaloo is not only premature; it is a result of ignorance. The reservation for women exists at the village level for more than 15 years now. However, I have not seen anything change significantly. Or, probably we all believe in incremental change or live with the hope that ‘the day is not far when…’. I still hear honour killings happening in parts of Haryana and Punjab. Eve teasing and rapes are endemic. What I fail to understand is how 200 women MPs can change the fate of half a billion people and make them empowered. And I fail to understand what is it that women chief ministers have done differently or significantly for the upliftment of women. And I, therefore, fail to see the causality between having more women in legislature and women upliftment.

Someone said-“Precaution is better than cure.” 62 years after independence, we have still not been able to think of preventive measures. What is most unfortunate is that there is still no uniform civil code. And the only way, it seems, that the politicians of this country can bring about reform in the civil society is through corrective measures like reservation.

Introducing corrective measures is still justified if the benefits pass on to the needy. I guess the governments over the years got tired of experimenting with the bottoms-up approach. Hence, this time they decided to follow the top-down approach. And now, I’m sure we’ll have a few more Mayawatis and Jayalalithas and Rabris and we’ll have a few more statues and parks built or someone else may hold the world record for owning the maximum number of slippers or someone may not only ruin the law and order of an entire state but the entire country. And who knows if we are unlucky and someone is really lucky, we may have all three ‘empowered scenarios’ being achieved by one person.

Anything for women empowerment…;-)