Never a fair deal for the fairer sex in Karnataka Cabinet

The lone woman in Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s Cabinet, Shashikala Jolle, has, arguably, received a demotion with Muzrai, Haj & Wakf portfolio.

Jolle was the women and child development minister in the previous B S Yediyurappa government. This portfolio is now with Halappa Achar, in an apparent move to keep Jolle away as she faced corruption allegations.

Jolle’s induction disappointed Hiriyur MLA K Poornima. She went on to claim that the party had “forgotten her efforts” in ensuring the BJP’s victory in the recent Basavakalyan and Tumakuru Lok Sabha elections, by consolidating votes of the Golla community to which she belongs.

A lone woman minister is more a norm than an exception. However, Jolle’s demotion and the missed opportunity for Poornima have sparked a debate on the scant opportunities for women politicians to serve as ministers.

Read | Congress needs women, youth to win power: D K Shivakumar

Karnataka has 10 women MLAs, of which three are from BJP in the 224-member Assembly. There are three women MLCs in the 75-member Legislative Council.

Women who become ministers are often given the women & child development portfolio, Congress leader and former minister C Motamma points out.

“There is much work to be done in this post. However, women are rarely considered for other portfolios,” she says, recalling that when she served as the women & child development minister in the S M Krishna Cabinet, she was keen on RDPR and social welfare.

“Having come from a humble background, I was interested in social welfare. I was also interested in developing rural infrastructure. I had even asked for a change in portfolio once, but it didn’t materialize.”

Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers’ welfare Shobha Karandlaje is a rare instance in the state, where a woman was given the coveted energy portfolio as well as RDPR.

Karnataka pales in comparison with its neighbours: Tamil Nadu had a woman chief minister in J Jayalalithaa, whereas Andhra Pradesh has Mekathoti Sucharita as home minister.

Also, women rarely become ministers twice. Motamma took part on a par with male leaders in the Ballari padayatra against illegal mining in 2010, an issue on which the Congress rode to power.

But, she did not make it to the Cabinet. “Take a look at posters of all political parties. Do you see senior women leaders,” she asks.

Former minister Umashree adds, “By the time all the caste and regional equations are balanced, the axe falls on women. There’s no space left.”

Apparently, it’s difficult for women to match the manner of socialising and networking male politicians do. So, women hardly lobby to be ministers.

A Bill seeking 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies is pending for more than a decade.

While the 50% reservation mandate in Panchayat Raj institutions has ensured more women in local bodies, reservation in Assemblies could compel parties to include women.

Journalist and political analyst Preethi Nagaraj observes that numerical increase of women in panchayats does not translate into active participation.

Also, while region and caste are parameters to choose a male minister, gender itself becomes the category with women leaders.

“As a result, we have not even come close to giving representation for women from marginalized communities,” she says.

Tara Krishnaswamy, the founder of women’s collective Shakti, has extensively researched the issue of political representation for women.

She observes that lesser developed states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have a greater number of women legislators and ministers.

In more developed states, women are perceived as a fierce competition and hence, they tend to be kept away.

Krishnaswamy makes a fundamental point: Political parties have to start giving more tickets to women.