The Hindu : New Delhi News : “Women should make it to Parliament on merit basis”

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Sunday, Mar 30, 2008
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“Women should make it to Parliament on merit basis”

Staff Reporter

Gursharan Kaur releases a book by Madhu Purnima Kishwar

‘There is a need to understand why there are biases and misrepresentation in society’
‘Social evils like dowry have become a rule rather than an exception’

NEW DELHI: Expressing her views on reservation for women, Prime Minister Manhohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur on Saturday said ideally women should be elected to Parliament without the aid of any reservation. “But if that does not happen, then the alternative is to reserve seats for them in both Houses,” she added.

Ms. Kaur, who earlier released a book “Zealous Reformers, Deadly Laws -- Battling Stereotypes” by Madhu Purnima Kishwar, said she believed that women should make it to Parliament on the basis of merit. “However, if their worth is not recognised, then reservation is the next alternative,” she added.

Dwelling on the high prevalence of crime against women, Ms. Kaur said there was a need to address the socio-economic contexts which give rise to social evils like female foeticide and infanticide.

“There is a need to understand why there are biases and misrepresentation in society,” she said, seeking respect and dignity for all irrespective of their gender, caste and religion.

Pointing out that law and justice were seldom synonymous, noted writer Ira Pande said though there were many laws, there were more injustices.

“This,” she explained, “stems from hypocrisy of not practicing what we preach.”

Referring to the issue of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, she said: “Power can be taken, it is seldom given. Nobody wants to share power. People have to become more vociferous in their demands.”

Suggesting a change in the mind-set to ensure more dignity for women, Ms. Pande said: “We have brought up our daughters like our sons; it is time for us to bring up our sons like our daughters. When men begin to feel like women, things will change.”

Supreme Court lawyer Kamini Jaiswal said social evils like dowry have become a rule rather than an exception, and there cannot be laws against rules. “We need to change the thinking of people. We need to provide education and empowerment to women so that they can refuse dowry,” she said. She called for changing the educational system whereby girls could be provided education at par with boys and stringent adherence to the inheritance laws. Ms. Kishwar compared laws to antibiotics and said: “While they are needed, they cannot be a substitute for food.”

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