The Rise of New Woman…

Today in the afternoon, we were chatting whether the government is going to pass the bill or not. Most were suspicious. More girls were arguing against the bill than boys. And as we were about to leave the tea stalls after college, the news came: India creates history by passing the Women’s Reservation Bill. I was proven right.

Many such discussions would have been going around the world in millions of homes. Only yesterday the BBC World Service was debating: whether women can or should enter parliament upon their own? By today evening the situation had changed. Some were arguing: why not 50% reservation, even as many disagreed about the very concept of such affirmative action.

The Context:
Before going into the nitty-gritty of how this bill can be global trendsetter, let’s talk a bit about the different travails through which the democratic right of women has passed through. Being with world’s oldest democracy, United Kingdom where women battled for voting rights for more than 200 years after England became a democracy. Several women activists had to make sacrifices to achieve their demand despite the fact the England was headed by some of world’s most powerful ladies like Victoria and Elizabeth. After a long struggle, it was only in 1918 that women in the UK were granted voting rights. However, the discrimination against women continued for many more years. While a male got the voting right at the age of 21, women were allowed to vote only on the attainment of 30 years age. Compared to that women in India got their voting rights the day India became independent.

Today, the country moved a step closer towards mandatory reservation for women in the electoral process after the Rajya Sabha approved the Women's Reservation Bill by an overwhelming majority. Now, that things have come so far, one can rest assured that sooner than later, it is going to be a reality now. This is a great achievement not only for the women in this country but also for the rest of the human race where women remain one of the most suppressed sections of the population.

Miles to go (before she sleeps)…!
Rape, molestation, bride-burning, wife-beating, prostitution, abduction . . . the list of crimes against women is endless. So are the laws and their clauses. But all these laws fall like the proverbial pack of cards in the face of bizarre social realities. And add to this the general degeneration of our criminal justice system judicial delays and the corrupt law and order machinery which have reduced the laws to a farce. The record of apprehensions and convictions is pathetic.

Can laws with acquittal rate of 90% be described as effective? In such a situation reserving seats in parliament and state legislatures can’t be enough. The most a women needs for empowerment is education, awareness and financial independence. Neither the dysfunctional Act against domestic violence nor the Women’s Reservation Bill provides women with that.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t need to reserve seats but this is not the solution of the crisis like situation we have in our country. There has been a continuous rise in crimes against women. According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau 2007, a total of 1,85,312 incidents of crime against women (both under Indian Penal Code-IPC and Special and Local Laws-SLL) were reported in the country during 2007 as compared to 1,64,765 during 2006, thus recording an increase of 12.5% during 2007. These crimes have continuously increased during 2003-2007 with 1,40,601 cases in 2003, 1,54,333 cases in 2004, 1,55,553 in 2005, 1,64,765 cases in 2006 and 1,85,312 cases in 2007.

Laws will be laws at best!
We have plenty of laws, all of which have failed to provide protection for women. The recent case of Ruchika Girhotra has highlighted a lacuna in the Indian law which, contrary to a progressive global trend, does not contain any special provision for child victims of sexual molestation.

Still women are harassed at home, public places and at work places. Dowry deaths and female infanticide are still very much socially acceptable in many parts of the country. Equal wage for equal work is still a distant dream. Working places and offices are not women-friendly. In such a scenario increasing awareness of laws to protect women's rights is essential to fight against atrocities apart.

One third reservation alone will not ensure equality. Women should be empowered. The real stumbling blocks are illiteracy, lack of self confidence and ignorance about legal rights.

Great Act of Symbolism
All the odd apart, the fact of the matter is that the act can be a great symbolic step in uplifting women’s status. This will also discourage of late, a distant though very much possible, tendency of clash between man and woman. It might sound childish, but it is a great gesture, which promises to take away, the anti-male chauvinism, from sensible feminists. At the same time, there should be no doubt that the act is no donation, but recognition of the rise of the new woman. Man and woman can once again assert respect for each other’s abilities.