The election time promises made by the BJP are legion in number. So is the list of broken promises, which continues to lengthen even as the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi bestows gratuitous hugs on various world leaders, and ceaselessly delivers high decibel speeches on the achievements of his three years in office!
Among the issues which the BJP has pushed under the carpet, the failure to move forward on the 33 per cent Women’s Reservation Bill after coming to power with absolute majority constitutes a damning betrayal of the women of this country. In May 2014 the first joint session of Parliament that was addressed by the President Shri Pranab Mukherjee laid out the vision and agenda of the NDA Government, headed by PM Modi. Without any qualifications, it categorically stated that: “ My Government recognizes the important role our women play in the development of our society, and the growth of our country. It is committed to providing 33 % reservation to them in Parliament and State Assemblies”.
But what has happened to the Bill in the last three years? Not once has it been listed in the business agenda of Parliament, before or during the sessions. In a reply to a question raised in the Parliament, the Union Law Minister informed the Rajya Sabha in August 2015 that the NDA Government has not started consultations with any political party or other stakeholder on this Bill, and that it required consensus amongst political parties. This prevarication, which has been the excuse made for many years by the ruling dispensation to stall the Bill, was subtly echoed by the WCD Minister, Maneka Gandhi as well. The Minister gave a written reply on September 14, 2015 saying that the Bill is indeed important, though in need of a few modifications, but that she does not see it listed in parliament in the near future. There is no subsequent evidence of any effort by the BJP to overcome the constraints which are well known and move to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill, which has now been pending for more than 20 years.
It is a measure of the degree to which patriarchal norms still prevail in our society and polity that even now Indian women are being denied their democratic right to political representation in the highest decision making bodies. Their presence in the current Lok Sabha, at 11.4 per cent, is the highest so far, but still highly inadequate. Representation in state legislatures is even lower, with an average hovering around 10 per cent only. Even small neighbouring countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka have ensured better representation through affirmative action.
The demand for women’s political representation is part and parcel of a larger struggle for changes in policies and politics that are more women friendly, and recognizes the gender gaps that exist today. According to the Global Human Development Report (2013), India ranks 132 out of 148 countries on the Gender Inequality Index. Women’s work participation in paid employment is 29 per cent, compared with 80.7 per cent for men. Whereas studies show that women’s labour in rural areas contributes to producing 73 per cent of food grains (NSS 66th round, 2009- 10) their ownership of land and property is less than 4 per cent. Maternal mortality is unacceptably high and anaemia is prevalent amongst more than 50 % of the female population. This dismal situation on basic human development indicators has to improve. The struggle for better political representation also enables women to take on the battle for socio economic advancement and gender justice in all spheres.
A Bill whose time has come
The 33 per cent Women’s Representation Bill, which requires a Constitutional Amendment, has the distinction of being the longest pending Bill awaiting a nod from Parliament. It was first introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 12, 1996, by the United Front Government under Deve Gowda. It proposed that 33 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies be reserved for women on a rotation basis. Lots would be drawn in such a way that a seat would be reserved only once in 3 consecutive general elections. Reservation for SC/ST women was also mandated within this framework. It was envisaged that reservation for women would be implemented for 15 years, once the amendment was passed. Unfortunately, the Bill failed to get the approval of the Lok Sabha, and was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, which submitted its report in two months time.
In 1998, when Vajpayee was the PM, the NDA Government re-introduced the Bill, however, unruly protests marked its introduction, with the document being seized from the Speaker and torn to bits, in an act of brazen hooliganism.
- there has been a continued and unprecedented parliamentary impasse over the passage of this Bill which demonstrates the overt and covert resistance to it from the patriarchal forces across the political spectrum, barring the Left. Voices of protest have risen repeatedly from the women’s movement and the democratic forces, demanding that women be given their due political space. An impetus was also provided by the largely positive experiences emanating from the huge groundswell of women who were getting elected to panchayats and municipalities after the enactment of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments in 1995. These lakhs of women who entered the political arena from villages, small towns and cities, demonstrated their determination and capacity to carry out their responsibilities, given the least chance. Most states, in recognition of this significant contribution, have increased the reservation quota in local bodies to 50 per cent for women. Women’s ability to participate in governance can no longer be disputed or dismissed lightly.
And yet, when the UPA Government under Manmohan Singh introduced the Bill in 2008, in the Rajya Sabha, it met with stiff opposition, and had to be referred yet again to a Joint Parliamentary Committee. This Parliamentary Committee held a nation-wide discussion, spearheaded a widespread debate, and submitted its report in December 2009, endorsing the Bill as it was. A historic opportunity was created on March 9, 2010, when the Bill was finally placed, and passed in the Rajya Sabha, amidst hectic drama. The optimism generated among the sections fighting for equality and equitable representation was palpable.
Sad to say, the 4 minute distance between the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha could not be bridged in 4 years, due to the lack of political will of the ruling dispensation. The double talk of opposition parties like the BJP, which pretended support, but undermined any efforts to arrive at a solution, also extended the impasse. To the deep disappointment of those whose hopes had risen after its passage in the Rajya Sabha, the much anticipated Women’s Reservation Bill lapsed following the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.
Now in 2017, after a three year long wait, it is clear that the NDA regime under its PM Narendra Modi has no intention of fulfilling its assurance made in its election manifesto. Repeated meetings, appeals, submission of memoranda to all the concerned Ministers, etc, have gone in vain. In spite of the ruling party having the required majority, the Government has failed to take the necessary steps for passing the Bill so far. It boasts about empowering women, but has remained inactive on a crucial measure essential to enhance women’s political participation in the highest decision making bodies. In fact, this hypocritical stance is very much in tune with the direction in which the policies of this Government are moving. Curtailment of women’s democratic rights has become the order of the day at every level, even as the brash campaign claiming the advent of “acche din” continues.
Even parties that were earlier vehemently opposed to the Bill in its present form have given in, and have expressed their willingness to support it. What then is the Modi Government waiting for? Is the silence of the Prime Minister hinged on the unseen strings that the RSS is wielding? Can women who have been breaking barriers and accomplishing extraordinary feats in all fields be the victims of a Manuwadi, brahmanical ideology that underestimates her work, and undercuts her democratic aspirations assured to her in the Indian Constitution?
It is time to remedy this gross injustice that is being perpetuated against the women of this country. It is time for the democratic movement to take up the call for the Women’s Reservation Bill and expose the subversion being resorted to by the Modi Government. The eloquent Prime Minister should break his unwarranted silence on this glaring denial of equal rights to the betis (daughters) of this country.
We demand that the Women’s Reservation Bill be placed and passed in Parliament by the NDA Government without any further delay.
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