A century of non-progress

The Green Goblin

101 years ago, the 1921 Dasara session of the Mysore Representative Assembly discussed a critically important issue -- whether the right to vote should be extended to women. Speaking to the members, Dewan Kantaraj Urs said that a deputation of women met him in July that year and asked for the rights to vote for, and be elected to, the Representative Assembly, Legislative Council, and the local and municipal bodies in their areas. A few selected women were permitted to watch the deliberations of the Assembly by special permission – an unusual exception, indicating the level of interest in the matter.

The debate began late – after matters considered more important, such as revenue, policy and education, were addressed. But very quickly, the discussion became heated. R Gopalaswami Iyer argued for the rights of women to assume positions of influence in office, citing Queen Victoria as an example, and stating that Madras and Bombay had already done so. Women were not asking for any favours, said Iyer – they only sought not to be penalised because of their gender. Many others agreed, with P Venkappaiya giving examples of model women decision-makers -- Queen Kaikeyi and Goddess Saraswati; Ananthaiya pointed to the example of his constituency, Shimoga, where it took them several years to open a female hospital ward – if women were involved in the decision-making, it could have happened sooner. V Shamaiyengar suggested a different reason – it was a ‘well-known fact’, he said, that educated women managed their households more effectively.

But others disagreed. Narasimha Jois said that giving women such power would only happen at the end of Kaliyuga. D S Mallappa worried about what would become of the households of Mysore, if women took to public life – Bengal had recently rejected a similar petition. Krishnamurthiachar quoted a Sanskrit saying to stress that women were “not fit for independence”, being too fickle-minded by nature. Lingegowda did not want women to mix freely with men in public. He then added another factor that seemed to be weighing deeply on his mind – if women were granted the rights to vote and be elected, what would become of men? They would have to take up the work of cooking, and of cleaning their own utensils. Nagappachar objected to such parochialism, saying, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that some of his older colleagues seemed to think that women were meant solely for household duties.

Sanskrit shlokas, examples of ancient and modern queens, and women from the epics, were used liberally by those on both sides, each seeking to give their argument divine force and moral influence. After a discussion that lasted for three hours, the proposition was put to vote. 39 members voted for the rights of women, but the major proportion, 58 men, voted against. Summing up the discussions, Dewan Urs hoped that the “inherent conservatism” of many of the representatives would give way to the force of public opinion in favour of women. He was right. A few months later, in October 1922, women were granted the right to be nominated to municipal seats in a meeting of the Representative Assembly – but only in Bangalore and Mysore.

With Indian independence, all restrictions on voting and the right to stand for election were removed. Yet, social attitudes continue to make it difficult for women to hold positions of power. Between 1952 and 2012, Mysore had only three women legislators. The Karnataka Assembly has only 8 women MLAs. Of course, the situation is not very different when it comes to the rest of the country. Despite ward reservation for women, women councillors complain of lack of support from their own families and society. Many are forced to become props in the hands of male relatives, who make decisions in their names.

When 50 per cent of the population of the state is limited in their exercise of legislative power, that cannot be a good augury for future progress. Will it take another century for things to change?

(Harini Nagendra, a Azim Premji University Prof, prides herself on barking up all trees, right and wrong)