The Women’s Reservation Bill that ensures a 33 per cent reservation of seats in the Parliament and the state legislatures is meant to empower women in the country and include them in national governance and politics.
The Bill had been pending for a long period, and there was near unanimity on it when it was introduced, though the timeline of it coming into effect has met with some disapproval, as it will not happen in the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
While the aims of the Bill are indeed commendable, as it includes empowerment of women, will they be achievable?
Now, that’s a question that requires some debate, and going by past experience of such political reservations at the grassroots democratic institutions in Goa and also the pattern of elections of women to the Goa State Assembly, it definitely does not inspire much confidence.
Let us take the Goa Assembly first, where currently there are three women legislators, all currently belonging to the same party, though one was elected on a different ticket, but later chose to join the party in government.
Each of them has a place in the Assembly because their spouse, who has already been a legislator, sought to increase his area of influence at the constituency level and also strengthen himself within the legislature wing of his party.
This in no way signifies the empowerment of women but is an extension of the family raj that Goa has been experiencing and would like to put an end to.
This was no different from the previous Assembly, which had two women MLAs, one the spouse of a politician, the other the widow of another who got elected when her husband died when in office.
The number of such wives and daughters contesting elections is not short, but while those elected have been lucky to win at the polls, other wives or daughters of politicians were not lucky enough, despite having thrown their hats in the ring.
This in no way signifies the empowerment of women but is an extension of the family raj that Goa has been experiencing and would like to put an end to.
It is hoped that the Bill does not permit this family raj to continue further, as against this background, it is extremely likely that legislators who find their constituencies reserved for women will endorse the candidature of their spouses, daughters or other female relatives.
Or even if the neighbouring constituency is reserved for women, the temptation to field a family member will be high.
If this happens, won’t the woman who is truly deserving of a seat in the legislature find it difficult to stand on her own and win in a fair manner? Won’t this woman who wants to make a difference in the constituency, and could be an able legislator, be at a disadvantage despite the reservation?
The last such woman to be independently elected to the Goa Assembly, without the patronage of a politician husband, was Nirmala Sawant in 1999.
There have been, however, women in Goa who have had political ambitions independent of their spouses and who have succeeded in fulfilling them by getting elected. Their numbers are few.
The last such woman to be independently elected to the Goa Assembly, without the patronage of a politician husband, was Nirmala Sawant in 1999.
Post that, it has been family raj that has enabled the election of women legislators.
Before Sawant, in 1994, there were four women elected, among them a former chief minister Shashikala Kakodkar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). The others were Victoria Fernandes, an independent, and two from the Congress – Sangeeta Parab and Fatima D’Sa.
At the grassroots level, the situation is no different, though at this level there are many women who have made it to the municipal and panchayat bodies on their own, while many couples also make their presence in the town and village governing bodies.
Here, you also have an example of a zilla panchayat member getting elected to the legislature and then fielding his spouse to the zilla panchayat vacancy and winning.
This background doesn’t really inspire confidence that it will empower the women in the manner in which it is aimed.
Incidentally, Goa has had just one woman MP and that is Sanyogita Rane elected in 1980, belonging to the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.
But then, there is also the hope that women in Goa should be able to rise above family raj and take their place in the Assembly, and even in Parliament, on their own merit.
Incidentally, Goa has had just one woman MP and that is Sanyogita Rane elected in 1980, belonging to the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.
Legislation that is meant for women’s empowerment should not be misused by politicians to increase their influence and extend their political lifelines. Let this legislation, which is being bandied as historic, bestow on women the empowerment in the political world that it envisages.