“Everybody tells that the country should become a Ramarajya. But I am quite against this. Let the country become a grama rajya. Human beings can’t live in the kingdom of Gods,” she said.

Ms Nayak was addressing a gathering of women, after inaugurating a seminar on “The participation of women in the Panchayat Raj system” held under the aegis of Women Study Centre of Mangalore University at University College here on Sunday. She asked how Rama could become a ideal husband who sent his pregnant wife to dense forest, after she passed out of a fire ordeal. “Which husband can send his pregnant wife to a forest instead of caring and rearing her? He could have asked to kill her instead of doing this. We do not need such Ramas. This all can happen only among Gods,” she criticised.

Quoting the example of Mahatma Gandhiji, she said, Gandhiji should not have asked his wife Kasturba to clean the filth of his guests. Instead, he himself should have done that. Nobody has the right to impose his or her opinion on others, she added.

‘Still in slavery’
Ms Nayak said instead of considerable increase in the participation of women in administration, they are still experiencing slavery in many places of the State.

“Women cannot sit and have a tea in front of men within a house in several places of north Karnataka. There is a need to create awareness among them to come out of slavery and superstition,” she observed.

Though women have been ascended to power in panchayats through reservation, even today their husbands are enjoying it. Out of the 14,800 women members in the panchayats of Karnataka, 14,006 are illiterate. Out of the 130 vice-presidents, 103 are illiterate, she noted. University History Department Chairman Prof B Surendra Rao presided. Women Study Centre Chairperson Dr Kishori Nayak was present.