A Fair Quota Of Gender Justice
The International Women’s Day was celebrated, as in every year, on 8th March this year. It will be recalled that an article on the subject of the status of women and related issues had appeared earlier in this column, on 9 and 16 January 2020. Given the importance of the subject, and also in view of the passage into law by Parliament, of the Women Reservation Bill 2023 on September 21, 2023, it is felt that the topic deserves to be revisited.
Though women account for half of the world’s population, they continue to face discrimination in many areas such as the workplace, health care and education, in addition to facing challenges such as physical and sexual violence. They are also under-represented in most decision-making bodies and positions of economic power, continuing to earn, less than men for the same work. In many countries of the world, girls are more likely to stay out of school than boys.
Women’s status is a term that describes their situation, in absolute terms and also relative to men. Empowerment is a related term, focusing on the degree of control which women have over their own lives, the environment and over the lives of those in their care, such as their children. The status of women has been a topic of serious discourse for many years the world over. It encompasses various burning issues concerning women, such as women education, maternal health, economic and social empowerment of women, and the role of women in family, community, politics and nation building. Throughout the world, various social norms, in some form or other, deny women the right to education, health services, economic opportunities, and political participation. Gender inequality hinders the progress of environmental sustainability, financial stability, global health and human rights, and is the primary cause of hunger and poverty.
The main policy-making body, on issues relating to the status and empowerment of women, for the whole world, is the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which dedicates itself exclusively to gender equality and advancement of the cause of women. As part of the United Nations Organization (UNO), it works to promote women’s political, economic, civil, social, and educational rights.
The phenomenon of gender inequality, apart from denying to women their rightful place in home and society, has an overall adverse impact, and can, in the long run, impact on matters such as environmental sustainability, financial stability, global health and human rights, and become the primary cause of hunger and poverty. The many farsighted and aggressive steps taken across many countries in the world over the past several decades, notwithstanding, no country can claim to have achieved adequate and effective gender equality yet. Many challenges remain for women in the new millennium. Any discernible change is possible only if political commitment obtains and adequate legal and policy frameworks are put in place, to provide a level playing field women and men.
Recognising the fact that gender equality is in the interest of men, as well as women, and a prerequisite for genuine democracy. Parliaments, in many countries are moving away from the traditional male – dominated membership towards promoting equality. The process, naturally, calls for critical examination of the institutions, and the readiness to acknowledge unseen barriers, that hinder the presence of women, and limit their participation. Ideally, Parliaments ought to be places where the requirements of both men and women are met, where the environment not only enables women to work but also encouragees them to work. They should put in place family-friendly environments, where men and women find that their needs to live, as well as work, are taken into account. They also ought to be places where sexist language or conduct is not tolerated.
Women running for elected office face numerous challenges, including addressing discrimination or cultural beliefs that limit women’s role in society, balancing private, family and political life, gaining support from political parties and securing campaign funding.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” goes the proclamation. By the pigs who control the government, in the novel, ‘Animal Farm’, by George Orwell. In context, it is a comment, on the hypocrisy of governments that claim absolute equality, but give little in terms of power and privileges. In the case of India today, however, there is little doubt, in the public mind, about the sincerity of the Government of India, in its resolve to strengthen the position of women in society. One hopes that, in the days to follow, concrete measures will be taken to justify that trust.
Mankind has come a long way away from the Biblical explanation for the God’s creation of woman in the Garden of Eden. “And the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make for him a helper suited to him.” In today’s world, men and women both need each other. They enjoy the same rights and are required to perform similar duties.
At home, at the workplace, in professions such as the law, medicine, accountancy, in the civil and military service, or in sports and games, women should, undoubtedly, have the freedom, to give full expression to their abilities, creativity and skills. Likewise, in terms of public recognition, or remuneration for their services women and men should, certainly, be treated at par. But the effort, at establishing equality between the sexes, should, like any other endeavour, stop at crossing the bottom line.
Men are men, and women are women, and none of them is superior to the other. There is no denying the fact, however, that the difference, between the two sexes, needs not only to be accepted but celebrated. Vive la difference as the French expression goes!
(The writer is formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)