Karnataka polls prove neither Modi nor Rahul Gandhi takes women empowerment seriously
Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the Karnataka election campaign with what, on the face of it, appeared to be a progressive slogan, "Beta, Beti Ek Saman" - this can loosely be translated to mean 'boys and girls are equal' - an important message coming from no less than the prime minister himself.
The only problem with this slogan, especially in the context of the poll-bound state, is that it is far removed from ground reality. Sample this: the BJP's list of 244 candidates for the polls has only six women contestants.
After the second list of candidates featured no women in the BJP's list, the state unit spokesperson of the party, S Shantaram, said candidates are selected on the basis of their "winnability".
So, what the prime minister hasn't told voters in Karnataka then is that while "beta, beti" are "ek saman", men are better poised to win elections and so it is okay to ignore women in ticket distribution. To be fair to the prime minister, it is also possible that his message hasn't reached Shantaram.
But the BJP is not the only party to have turned its back on women this election season.
The two other important contenders also have only disappointment to offer – while the Congress has fielded 15 candidates, the Janata Dal Secular has fielded four.
During campaigning in Gujarat in 2017 and in Meghalaya this year, Congress scion and party President Rahul Gandhi had repeatedly said that he is keen to make women chief ministers in Congress-administered states. The Amethi MP also stated that more and more "capable women" would be given party tickets to contest at various levels of polls.
Running a party, where virtually all decisions are taken by the party high command, the Congress president must now tell us how the list of candidates in Karnataka was finalised without incorporating his views. And why did he not tear into pieces the list – we know he is capable of tearing to bits pieces of paper that he doesn't approve of – which did not reflect any adequate representation of women?
Despite the fact that Karnataka is a state where 49 per cent of the voting population constitutes women, the BJP's list has only 2.5 per cent women and that of Congress has 6 per cent. Put together, this is barely over 8 per cent.
It is in this backdrop, and following soon after the bone-chilling rapes of Kathua and Unnao that recently shook the women of India, that Modi's talk of ‘equality’ turns into a tragic joke for the women of Karnataka in particular – and the country in general.
In 2013, of the 175 women who contested, the BJP, the Congress and the JDS together fielded only 25 women candidates.
A majority of women were compelled to fight elections as independents. Cut to 2018 – we realise this battle for equality is going to be a long one.
More distressing than the dismal ticket allocation is how parties are even reaching out to women by doling out freebies such as pressure cookers, saris, and jewellery to win over these voters. This understanding of women's priorities in the India of 2018 is stomach-churning.
Kisaan ko apne khet mein aise ped lagaane ki swantantra ho jisse uski aye mein badhotri ho. Kisaan ke ghar mein jab beti paida ho, uss time woh ek aisa ped lagaade toh jab beti shaadi hogi, uss time jab woh ped kaatega toh shaadi ka kharcha uss ek ped se nikal jayega: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/s1WApAdY2r
— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2018
The tech savvy prime minister's understanding of women's aspirations is distressing, to say the least. In his bid to reach out to the farmers of Karnataka through the Namo app, Modi advised that trees should be planted by farmers at the time of the birth of their daughters, to ensure adequate funds when they are married.
LIVE : PM Modi interacts with Kisan Morcha Karyakartas of @BJP4Karnataka. #FarmersWithModi https://t.co/DRSoHGxbAY
— BJP (@BJP4India) May 2, 2018
The prime minister apparently wants us to believe that while men and women are equal, we can't expect the latter to win elections and we can't expect farmers to think about educating their daughters; they should rather prioritise girls’ marriage over education.
During his campaign trail, Modi said that he was "excited to know there was a dedicated women’s team that worked behind ISRO's Mars Mission 'Mangalyan'." But his party evidently doubts that the same women can face the heat and dust of the electoral grounds, perhaps even emerge victorious.
Meanwhile, Modi also said India is now moving forward from ‘women’s development’ to ‘women-led development’, and that "women first" was the mantra of his government and party.
This makes one thing very clear. Either the prime minister is seemingly confused about women and their role in society – or he is trying to confuse us Indians. Modi is a man who has risen through the ranks in a party that had no dearth of strong, spirited leaders at any point in time. He is an astute politician and therefore, it is unlikely that he is very confused about the matter. The attempt thus must be to confuse us.
Lauding the contribution and efforts of women workers in Karnataka, Modi asked karyakartas to concentrate on winning booths. Modi told women workers, "We have to win state elections. We will win, we will have to win Assembly constituencies, but as always I urge karyakartas, the most important thing is winning polling booths."
The message for women in Karnataka then is that they must toil at the booth level, they must ensure their male counterparts in the party win elections and then they must take that pressure cooker on offer and step back into the house.
Chapter closed.