The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Fewer women in politics leads to lopsided governance: Renuka

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Monday, Oct 29, 2007
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Karnataka

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Fewer women in politics leads to lopsided governance: Renuka

Special Correspondent

‘Stress on importance of maintaining balance in environment and society’

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Women power: Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury and President of Karnataka Mahila Congress Rani Satish interact with children at the State-level debate and essay competition in Bangalore on Sunday.

Bangalore: Women’s representation in Parliament remains as low as 8 per cent and this has resulted in lopsided governance, said Renuka Chowdhury, Minister of State for Women and Child Development, at a function organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Women’s Congress Committee here on Sunday. Ms. Chowdhury said that the proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in politics should be seen as providing no more than an “entry point” to women. The reservation is time-bound and meant to last three Lok Sabha terms, she pointed out. The success of reservation for women in Panchayat Raj institutions had proved that providing an opportunity can work wonders, she said. Equitable society and fair policy is impossible if 50 per cent of the population is left out of decision making, she said. Stressing on the importance of “maintaining balance in environment and society”, she said that ratio of girls per thousand boys was as low as 750 in Haryana and Punjab. She came down heavily on State Governments for failing to effectively implement the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act.

“There was no government yesterday, they are hoping to form one today and there is no guarantee on what will happen tomorrow,” was how Ms. Chowdhury summed up the political situation in Karnataka.

Saying that she “cannot resist making a dig” at the political situation in Karnataka, she asked how any welfare work, including implementation of PNDT Act, can be carried out in the midst of constant political drama. There was absolutely “no moral ground” for the re-alliance between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party, said Ms. Chowdhury.

A nation-wide study conducted by the Ministry for Women and Child Welfare has thrown up some interesting observations on how perceptions of men and women differ on developmental issues. When women were asked in several villages to which destinations they needed good roads, they mentioned the village school, the market and the temple. Men, on the contrary, wanted roads to the nearest national highway and the liquor shop.

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