The constitutional amendment bill pending for the last 14 years, aimed at empowering women by enabling them to play a crucial role in the law-making process by reserving 33% seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies , was finally passed by the Rajya Sabha on March 9, amid protests and unruly scenes. The 108th constitutional amendment bill 2008 plans to provide the reservation and its much touted benefits across the country. While the bill under question is expected to help women achieve their rightful place in the various state legislatures as well as the Parliament, many political parties have been exposed as regards their profession and practice. Even the parities which seemed to stand like solid rocks behind the bill, now give a feeling of divided houses, particularly the Congress and the BJP whose inside stories suggest the majority’s disliking for the measure of strengthening women’s cause through affirmative action of reservation. Many members have given expression to their innermost feelings which are of uncertainty over their being able to contest the election after the Bill becomes the Act, suspicions of their constituents continuing to remain loyal to them after a stint of their replacement by a woman.
SEATS FOR RESERVATION
New clauses to be inserted to clauses 330 and 332 of the Constitution, after Union Cabinet’s approval of the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Law and Justice will mean that 43 out of 131 Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes and one of the two Anglo-Indian seats in the Lok Sabha will be earmarked for the women, barring men to contest on these seats. It is no secret that elected MPs woo their electorate, pamper them and look after their interests, sometimes genuine, many times against the letter and spirit of law as reflected in the rules. Now this new situation where one-third constituencies will debar men, all their labour, energies and time spent in nurturing the constituents will go waste. And what will happen at the next election (after five years) is anybody’s guess! The weight of this ordeal is too back-breaking to be endured. What shall such a male MP do? They say that instinct of self-preservation is uppermost and strongest instinct.
PRESENT MALE MPS’ REACTION
Not denying the intensity of this instinct, the way open to existing MPs is to oppose the Bill tooth and nail as this legislation will affect the political ambitions and fortunes of every single politician. Every time an election for Parliament (similarly for State Legislative Assemblies in states) is held, 180 male MPs will be ousted initially (later this figure will double up to 360 as 180 male MPs and 180 female MPs who complete their term) and surely this will be a bolt from the blue for the full-time politicians enjoying loaves and fishes of the elected office of MP. Before bringing in such a draconian Bill with such devastating consequences on a colossal scale leading to unemployment for full time politicians fit for no other job, the political parties so enthusiastic about it must have foreseen that ours is not an advanced European country or USA where MPs and public representatives later go back to their original professions.
Devil lies in details. Now think of 180 women MPs who know it for certain that the constituencies they are representing are being represented by them for the first time, shall not be available for them to contest for two coming terms (10 years). What benefit their spectacular performance will bring them if they know that they are not going to deal with the same electorate who could admire them for their devotion to the cause of the constituents and their good performance in uplifting the area and solving its problems to meet the local aspirations? Thus in the garb of a progressive legislative measure, great disservice to the whole democratic system is on the cards. Moreover, 2/3rd of strength of legislatures comprising male members will also get disinterested in their avowed legislative work for the uncertainty of future as their seats would be reserved for women next time.
DILEMMA OF FIRST TIME LEGISLATORS
Thus the details of implementing and achieving the objectives of the Women’s Reservation Bill will be self-defeated as it takes away the incentive from the women representatives to nurture and be accountable to their constituencies since after each election they shall have either to withdraw from the contest or search new pastures as no constituency can be reserved for them in succession. Under these circumstances whose fall-out has not been fully studied, discussed, debated and analysed as a consequence of Women’s Reservation Bill, the clever male legislators will bring in their wives, daughters or daughter-in-laws to fill up the vacuum for one term after which they can reclaim their constituencies and their rehabilitation will be smooth. Can we afford our Parliament and State Legislatures with such stop-gap elected representatives? And what will be quality of legislative work to be done by such dummies?
IMAGE OF POLITICIANS
The greedy politicians of our times, by and large, are faceless freaks, always trying to grab political power and all the other forms of power which flow with it. Fed on unscrupulous ambition to retain it at any cost, their ultimate aim is geared to self-preservation. Nothing else resides in the hearts and minds of these people who were earlier clad in pious khadi clothes, but now stalk the political field clad in most expensive clothes representing latest fashion both in fabric and style.
They would rather die than be divested of the power which they have become used to and which has gone to their head and is brazenly reflected in their actions and deeds. When the society as a whole is reaching newer nadirs with every day passing, with taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider roads but narrower view-points, with more knowledge but less sense, with more medical doctors and medicines and less health, with multiplied possessions but reduced values, can a leopard be supposed to change its spots or a politician give up power inseparably inter-woven with his self?
FREEDOM OF WOMAN: A MIRAGE
It is this naked truth which casts doubts about chances of achieving the stated goals of the Bill: equality, justice, rightful role in law-making, a position of honour, dignity, self-esteem and freedom from the so-called clutches of social norms, traditions and culture which apparently deprive Indian woman of the so-called freedoms enjoyed by her western counterpart. Of course everybody has an undisputed right to one’s opinion or fancy but would it not be wise to look back at history, assess the situation impartially, analyse the happenings and the causes and motives thereto, and if need be, adopt remedial measures necessary for course correction.
IMPERFECTION IN MAN-MADE LAWS
If one were to ponder over the whole problem in toto in an unbiased manner, one would readily agree that man (or woman)-made laws are imperfect, howsoever wise, experienced, broad-sighted such a law-making human being may be. Who can deny the fact that the members of the Constituent Assembly who drafted the Constitution after due honest deliberations, discussions and debates, often stormy and lengthy, were surely among the wisest persons of their time with noblest intentions to make a document which will be the basis of the governance in free India. They had with them the benefits of the constitutions of other countries including those of socially and materially advanced ones and also those with similar socio-politico-economic backgrounds. The aftermath of the enforcement of the Constitution did afford them an insight into the governance and related problems. The Women’s Reservation Bill is 108th amendment bill of 2008. If human genius was sufficient and fit to peep into future and provide solution to all contingencies, there would have been no need to amend wisely-drafted document for over one hundred times.
MAN NEEDS DIVINE LIGHT
The fact of the matter is that human beings have unjustly usurped the Divine Right to be sovereign and makers of laws. Naturally human beings are bound to be utter failures for trying their hand at a work absolutely beyond their capacity. It does not require much prudence to understand that the Creator Himself furnishes the operating manual which provides “dos” and “don’ts” and provides instructions for the complete and safe operation of human affairs. The ‘operating manual’ for human beings is the Qur’ān which has not undergone any amendment during over 1400 years, nor would need any amendment in future too as it proclaims, “Innaddeena indallahil Islam” and “Al youma akmaltu lakum deenukum wa atmamtukum alaikum naimati…”
The Qur’ānic injunctions together with Holy Prophet’s traditions and sayings provide a complete and lasting solution to the problems of the present-day woman: education, share in parental property, foeticide, differential and degrading, demeaning treatment in comparison to men, injustice, discrimination, absence of a say in decision-making process in family matters, degraded position. The Muslim society has found solution to all such and other problems by assigning great reverence to women for bearing, rearing, educating and upbringing future generations. When a mother moulds personality of a child into a law-abiding, God-fearing, right-thinking member of the society, she has outdone best woman orator, robust athlete or heroic horse-rider. If we still find strife, torment, discord and uneasy situation among Muslims on this count, it is because they have deflected from the right path; the fault is theirs.
OPPOSITION TO THE BILL
Many sections of society have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Women’s Reservation Bill, claimed to remove gender imbalances in our legislatures. However this momentous step could shake the established hierarchies of our politics. The statements of different leaders (women included) throw an interesting scenario of comments. Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad, overzealous proponents of Mandal philosophy, claimed that they are not anti-women but want reservation for backward classes and minorities also within the total quota reserved for women. While initially the Congress, the BJP and the Communists hailed the Bill as the panacea for all the ill suffered by women, its opponents saw the sky falling with the passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. But the most striking comment came from Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, former Central BJP Minister hailing from Madhubani in Bihar, who averred, “History will not spare the BJP. The BJP was like Bhishmapitamah and Dronacharya in Mahabharata who remained mute spectators to the disrobing of Draupadi.”
MUSLIMS SUPPORT SUB-QUOTA
Muslim groups, seeing that they are not meted out even-handed treatment by the Union Government in matters concerning their welfare such as action on Sachar Commission and Ranganath Mishra Commission’s recommendations, have started galvanising support from Muslim Women’s reservation. They argue that being far behind in education and deprived of advantages which accrue therefrom, theirs is a fit case for affirmative action. It is no secret that a part of the body suffering from weakness or infirmity needs greater attention, optimum nourishment, medication and physiotherapy to restore the lost strength and vitality. Likewise Muslim women need to have reservation to raise their long-pending specific problems and seek government help. Let us see how the supporters of quota within quota, Samajwadi Party, BSP, RJD, JD(U) and other parties from the south, react to this most genuine demand and in the background of dwindling Muslim representation in successive elections.