Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan welcomed the introduction of the Bill providing 33 percent reservation to women in the legislatures saying that a "flawed bill is better than no bill."
The passage of the Bill in the 100th year of International Woman's Day would be a tribute to Indian women and the visionary Constitution makers. It took centuries of struggle in Britain and decades in the U. S. for women to get the right to vote. In contrast, India is the first country in the world to ensure equal voting rights to women simultaneously on par with men irrespective of their region and language, religion and caste.
Dr. JP recalled that the Lok Satta along with like-minded organizations had prepared an alternative draft Bill as early as in 1998 plugging the loopholes in the UPA drafted Bill. The Lok Satta Bill provided for political parties fielding women in 33 percent of the seats.
Since there is now a general consensus on women's reservations, Parliament should adopt the Bill and make history, since "the impossible best is the enemy of the possible good."
Dr. JP hoped the entry of women in legislatures on a large scale would help redefine politics and promote better public discourse. "Politics today has become synonymous with criminalization, corruption and cronyism. It has become a matter of privilege, patronage and petty tyranny Public discourse is vitiated by abuse, invective and violence. The events in the Rajya Sabha on Monday were a testimony to the decline in public discourse."
Women legislators in large numbers, he hoped, would make quality education, health care, skills and livelihood opportunities as the fulcrum of politics and facilitate discourse based on mutual respect, evidence and logic.
Dr. JP cautioned that reservations to women are not a panacea going by women's reservations in local bodies. Although women constituted one-third of elected members in local bodies, there has been no change in their condition. "How can women be empowered if local bodies are not empowered with devolution of resources and powers", he asked.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Make history by passing Women’s Reservations Bill: Dr. JP
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AIMRAW voices protest against Women Reservation Bill. PRESS RELEASE
ReplyDeleteSub: Announcing severe protest against mutilation of the Indian Constitution in the name of Women Empowerment.
About AIMRAW:
Association of International Men's Rights Activism and Welfare (AIMRAW) is the first ever international conglomerate of men's rights activists all over the world. This organization intends to create massive awareness about men's issues all over the world and vouch for men's rights in all areas of life. AIMRAW aims to create "Affiliate Chapters" to spread its awareness. AIMRAW is in touch with men's rights activists from 60 countries all over the world, including India. The Indian Affiliate Chapter of AIMRAW is in Bangalore, India.
The Indian Affiliate Chapter of AIMRAW is conducting this press conference in order to voice its protest against the proposed implementation of the proposed 81st Constitutional Amendment popularly known as the Women's Reservation Bill. Terming it as the next big step of "Women Empowerment", this amendment calls for reserving one-third of Lok Sabha Constituencies for women on a rotating basis once in three years per Constituency.
Notwithstanding the political Tsunami to be brought about by the passage and implementation of this "Constitutional Amendment", AIMRAW's Indian Affiliate Chapter strongly objects to the infringement of Constitutional Rights conferred to men in India as explained below :-
Reserving the constituencies for women as enshrined in the proposed Constitutional Amendment will lead to,
1. Infringement on choice of citizens to elect their representative.
2. Infringement on choice of men to contest elections (either as a political party member or an independent) in their own constituency.
The above two infringements are severely unconstitutional and undemocratic in nature and are politically aimed at subverting democracy in India. The latest attempt in this direction has been by Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance and Jayanti Natarajan, Congress spokesperson as the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Bill, tabled the report on the 17th Dec 2009 in both the Houses of the Parliament.
Although, the Congress party has been spearheading the enactment of the bill, having tabled it twice in two consecutive winter sessions of the Parliament, if one goes by the available data, there is a severe lack of integrity on part of Congress and other political parties as far as the issue of the "Women Reservation Bill" is concerned.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, out of the 443 candidates declared by the Congress, the party pitched only 40 women candidates (less than 10%). Opposition BJP fielded only 43 women candidates out of the total 427 seats. Left parties, shouting at the top of its lungs about the cause of women reservation, had the worst record of women representation in their list of candidates with only 5% of the tickets being given to women candidates for the 15th Lok Sabha elections. While, the CPM only fielded 4 women candidates out of the 80 declared seats, the CPI gave only 3 women candidates out of the 45 seats it was contesting. While Samajwadi Party fielded a mere 6 candidates out of its 75 candidates in UP, Lalu Yadav-led RJD gave a mere 2 seats to women in its quota of 28 seats in Bihar.(Source: www.indian-elections.com)
So, the Congress Govt., controlled by Sonia Gandhi, failed to field even 100 female candidates. It's difficult to believe that a more than 100 year old political party does not have 100 worthy female leaders to contest parliamentary elections. The truth is that the older male politicians are not ready to give up their seats for females. Even Sonia Gandhi was powerless in front of these old politicians. She cannot risk a major revolt in Congress party, if she had fielded women in 30% of parliamentary seats.
Furthermore, the data from the last General Elections of 2009 shows that, "1 out of 12 women candidates won vis-à-vis 1 out of 15 men candidates". This simply means that the winning ratio for women was 25% higher than men. The electorates of India have shown far more confidence in women candidates than the political parties.
ReplyDeleteIf Sonia Gandhi and other politicians lack integrity, then why should the citizens pay the price by giving up their choice to contest elections in their own Constituencies? It is analogous to performing a by-pass surgery for piles only because a heart surgeon is available. The Indian Chapter of AIMRAW strongly objects to the proposed Constitutional Amendment in the 81st Constitutional Bill 2008 (popularly known as "Women Reservation Bill") which will quintessentially be discriminatory against men and will stop them from contesting elections in their own constituencies merely because they are men.
We have neither stopped Kiran Majumdar Shaw, or Kiran Bedi or Sudha Murthy or Uma Bharati or for that matter, any woman candidate from contesting elections nor raised an issue about political parties allowing them to contest. However, with this Constitutional amendment, we see that now men are being asked NOT TO CONTEST elections in their own constituency merely because they are men. And hence, AIMRAW strongly objects to reserving constituencies via a Constitutional Amendment.
The Indian Chapter of AIMRAW strongly feels that due to the existing hatred against men, genuine problems of men are trivialized and the negative projection of men adds to it. Skyrocketing expectations from men, lack of freedom of choices in their life, nose-diving acceptance levels for them, accelerating suicide rate of men, constantly growing unemployment rate for men, complete absence of communication channels for them have already reduced men in the society to second class citizens. Now, in such a situation, if this Constitutional Amendment is allowed to go through, then men will be officially declared as "Second class citizens" and this is not acceptable to AIMRAW.
Whereas, the real problem lies with the inability of the old male politicians to give up their power positions and allow equal representation of women in the state and the parliamentary legislative assemblies. And instead of making attempts to solve that, the Govt. is making yet another attempt to discriminate against ordinary men giving into the pressure tactics of gender obsessed radical feminist groups; this is nothing but a broad daylight murder of democracy to which AIMRAW voices strong opposition.
Thanks and Regards
Public Relations Officer
Indian Affiliate Chapter, Bangalore,
Association of International Men's Rights Activism and Welfare
Women Reservation Bill - A Murder of Democracy. The Women's Reservation Bill has been at the center stage of debate since over a decade. Having introduced for the first time in 1996, the bill has undergone several layers of criticism. And in the last general elections, every political party promised the bill just to garner votes from the women lobby. But still, the political parties failed miserably in displaying integrity as no political party could cross the 10% "glass-ceiling" limit of fielding women candidates.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, in order to set record straight, the Govt. is headed to make the 81st Constitutional Amendment to make way for the bill. In layman words, the constitutional amendment reserves 1/3rd of Lok Sabha seats for women candidates and each constituency would be reserved once in every three election terms on a rotation basis.
Put other way round, men in the reserved constituencies will not be allowed to contest elections i.e. their choice to contest elections would be trampled upon only because of their gender. This is nothing but direct discrimination against men and that too those men who never stopped any woman from contesting elections nor have raised any objection to election tickets being given to women by the political parties. Not only that, the citizens of that particular constituency would be forced to select their political representative from a group of women only i.e. their choice to have their own representative will also be done away with.
Now the political parties, allowing them to be hijacked by fund chasing gender obsessed radical feminists, are infringing on the Constitutional Right of men to stand up in elections from their constituency. But the real problem does not lie with the men whose constitutional rights are being attacked. The real problem lies with the political parties and the stubborn old male politicians. The stubborn old male politicians (currently comprising 90% in the power circles) are simply not ready to give up their "Power Positions" to women and this deficit is not being filled by disallowing male politicians to continue in politics but by sabotaging the future prospects young potential male politicians.
It is analogous to a doctor performing by-pass surgery for knee fracture only because a heart surgeon is available and the orthopedic is too stubborn to perform the surgery or just because I do not have an underwear, I will take another person's shirt. Does that make any sense?
When Sonia Gandhi herself is not ready to risk a major revolution inside Congress parties by fielding 100 women candidates, why are the citizens, especially men, being told to risk a mutilated constitution. This act cannot be termed anything short of "Broad daylight murder of democracy" in order to retain power positions.
Moreover, even the Upper House of the Parliament - the Rajya Sabha has only 10% representation of women. What is stopping the Rajya Sabha members to imbibe more women into their cabinet when the Rajya Sabha is independent of the national elections and the electorate? It is clearly evident that the favorite activity of subverting men and their rights is actually being piggybacked in the name of this Constitutional Amendment under the carpet of Women's Reservation bill and being labeled as "Women Empowerment".
Is "Women's Empowerment impossible without Male Entrapment?"
When Kiran Majumdar Shaw can contest elections from any constituency of Bangalore, then even Vijay Malaya should be able to, but with the current constitutional amendment, if the constituency of Bangalore South gets reserved for women, then still Kiran Majumdar Shaw would be able to but Vijay Malaya would not be able to. Why should men put up with such bias?
Some more points worth noting:
1. Even after tabling the bill twice, the Congress party failed to inspire any confidence of higher representation of women [1], what is the guarantee that they will not fail again, after mutilating the Constitution?
2. If truly and actually they have the will to increase the participation of women in mainstream politics, why do they need a bill for that?
Delete3. If the old male politicians are not allowing increased women participation why the price should be paid by the citizens?
4. Why should the future unborn generations of men, for all time to come, suffer from a raped Constitution and be disallowed to have their choice to contest in elections or select their representative only because of their gender?
5. Are women being considered any less capable than men that they cannot live without reservations and extra-concessions? And if that is so, then any amount of concessions is not going to work. In such a scenario how long are men being forced to live life like second-class citizens?
Earlier, the Govt. could easily pass another unconstitutional anti-male law and satisfy the fund chasing gender obsessed radical feminists in order to retain the power positions of the stubborn old male politicians. But, now things have changed. Now, citizens have launched a powerful tirade against such biased anti-male laws and thus, now the Govt. has come up with another sinister master-plan to retain power positions for stubborn old male politicians.
It is going forward to amend the Constitution so that all future generations of men pay the price of the stubbornness of this current generation of old males who cannot forego power even in their dusky days.
It is very clear, that under the barb and paradoxical veil of "Women Reservation Bill", actually the Govt. is murdering democracy in order to satisfy the greed and power hunger of stubborn old male politicians.
The onus now lies on citizens. Do they accept a mutilated constitution and allow democracy to be murdered in broad daylight or voice their opposition against "Reservation of Constituencies"?
If you feel you should speak up against this proposed murder of democracy and rape of Constitution, feel free to spread this article everywhere and to all and sundry.
Women's reservation is against the principles of gender equality and should be scrapped.
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