There is an old proverb, “Behind every successful man, there is a woman.” This proverb is somehow suitable for the current electoral battle. Recently, Odisha chief minister and BJD president Navin Patnaik pledged to field 33% women candidates in the coming Lok Sabha elections. After this move, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is also ruling TMC gave 41% of the Lok Sabha seats to women candidates. Mamata allotted 17 out of 42 parliamentary seats in Bengal to women.
In the absence of Women’s Reservation Bill, many parties hesitate to put up women candidates because they doubt their ‘winnability’. BJD is bold to buck this trend. If we look at BJP, they haven’t announced any reservation for upcoming elections. I think they have more faith in ‘Ujjwala Yojna’ which provides cooking gas connections to women rather than providing Lok Sabha seats to them.
If we look at the speech of AICC president Rahul Gandhi, he has promised welfare measures like free school, free college, medical facilities, and access to higher education for the girl child. So, the outcome seems that Congress party has also not allotted seats to women.
If you pick up the newspaper of the last two days, you will first have to realize that, is today women’s day? Did I forget to wish my mother on this so-called ‘auspicious day?’ Because in India, there is a long history of worshipping and honouring the woman, only on special occasions. After seeing the huge success of women in the Lok Sabha elections seat distribution, we must also think of NCRB data, which shows 24,923 rape cases were reported across India in 2012. This data only shows the cases that are being reported. According to NCRB, 71% of rapes crimes go unreported. So, we must keep in mind the agenda behind the politicians for giving seats to women. Women will not be empowered only by giving Lok Sabha seats to them, they must be given a proper environment to prove their excellence.