Move 33 per cent women reservation bill: Alva

The bill seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in assemblies and in the Parliament has been pending for a long time. None of the men politicians, who speak about women empowerment outside the Parliament, are batting for the bill inside the Parliament, former Governor of Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa states, Margaret Alva said.

She was delivering the first Mother Mary Aloysia AC Endowment lecture at St Agnes College in Mangaluru on Wednesday.

She further said the determination to pass the land acquisition (ammendment) bill if only could be shown in women’s reservation bill, women would get their rights. But that does not interest the overwhelming majority of men in the house, she lamented.

There is also a demand that the limit of 33 per cent should be raised to 50 per cent, she said and hoped that the bill will not lapse this time and be passed.

Despite having outstanding women in politics, there are various factors that still restrict women from their participation in politics and insist that they are not good enough for electoral politics.  

Today women members comprise 12 per cent of the total strength of the parliament, which is highest ever. Yet, it is far below the 21 per cent world average for women in elected bodies.

Stating that patriarchy is the biggest obstacle to the development of women, Alva said that down the ages, Indian women were kept out of decision making in the family and eco-political structures. She has been economically exploited, educationally neglected, physically violated and denied justice.

Traditions, customs, religious practices and caste barriers have been used by the patriarchy to subdue and restrict women to prevent their participation outside the domestic sphere.

Her unpaid labour in  the family has not been recognised by the national economy as productive labour, she said.

Margaret Alva said that the success of women could be judged by the factors  such as representation of women in elected bodies, attitude of political parties toward women and the capacity of women to influence policy decisions.

The roots of women’s participation in politics can be traced to 19th century reform movements  which involved campaigning against caste discrimination, purdah, child marriage, sati and so on. These activities gave momentum to women’s entry into public spaces which in turn paved the way for their entry into the Indian independence struggle as per the call given by Mahatma Gandhi.

In the post Independence era, the 73 and 74 constitutional ammendment guaranteeing one third  seats for women in local bodies, is the major milestone in the participation of women in politics, she said.

Recalling the contributions of Mother Mary Aloysia A C,  Margaret Alva said that Mary Aloysia’s  life and principles are relevant to this time. Margaret Alva meanwhile became the first recipient of Mother Mary Aloysia award, given to an outstanding Agnesian.

St Agnes College Principal Prof Dr M Supriya A C presided over the programme. At Agnes  Alumnae Association Vice President Usha Fernandes and Dr Devi Prabha Alva were present.