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Women worst victims of neo-liberal policies: Brinda

Staff Reporter

`Reservation Bill is a priority issue for the CPI(M)'

Gender issues: `Marketisation of culture degrading women'

KOCHI: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat has said that women are the worst victims of the changing patterns of global development caused by neo-liberal economical policies.

Speaking at the inauguration of a seminar on `Role of women in development,' organised by the Corporation of Kochi at E.M.S. Memorial Town Hall on Thursday, Ms. Karat said that with contractual labour and removal of State protections for workers, women were being increasingly exploited. This was the situation in the U.S. itself.

While talking of the role of women in development, a discussion should be first held on the kind of development being talked about. The models of development that were said to be worth emulating were those of States such as Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana, which had achieved a higher per capita income.

But these States also showed the worst sex ratio and the highest number of female foeticides, she added. Ms. Karat called upon women to break the patriarchal mindset in society for ensuring an increased representation of women in State Assemblies and Parliament. She pointed out that the presence of women in public life had increased considerably with the 33 per cent reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions. Especially in States such as Kerala, West Bengal and Karnataka, women occupied 43 per cent of the seats in local governing bodies. She called upon women to break the bonds of culture and that of the prison formed by the caste structure for enhancing their role in the development of society. The honour of communities was vested upon the frail shoulders of women.

In States such as Kerala, a woman engaging in a relationship with a man from a lower community might face social disapproval, but in States such as Haryana, she would be publicly lynched.

While the `marketisation' of culture was resulting in a mere shifting of women's image from the `pathivratha' to that of a sex object, the increasing political offensive of fundamentalist forces were interpreting tradition according to a narrow understanding of religion.

Quota Bill

Later, talking at a meet-the-press programme organised at the Ernakulam Press Club, Ms. Karat said the Women's Reservation Bill was a priority issue for the CPI(M).

The Bill could be brought to the floor of Parliament only through a continuous struggle.

Her party was apprehensive of the present move to bring the Bill to Parliament only after increasing the number of seats by a third of the present figure.

The CPI(M) doubted that this would only cause further delay in bringing the Bill to Parliament.

She said the CPI(M) had expressed deep concern over the alacrity with which the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre was trying to fulfil the neo-liberal policies protecting the interests of foreign capital as against the interests of the poor in the country. While the UPA Government had moved in the direction of the Common Minimum Programme in certain issues such as tackling the problems created by `saffronisation' of textbooks and in increasing the international image of the country, the Left parties were concerned of its shift towards neo-liberal policies.

Ms. Karat said the UPA Government's stability depended on whether it could meet the aspirations of people.

Answering a question on the Left parties' decision not to field a candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls, Ms. Karat said the CPI-(M) Polit Bureau would discuss the issue.

She said the CPI(M) was taking steps to induct more women members into the party. Ms. Karat pointed out that the falling sex ratio of Kerala was a concern for the party.

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