This refers to Her Crown of Thorns (May 6). Even in an age when women are breaking the glass ceiling in various fields in our country, it strains credulity that in politics they are grossly under-represented. Why is it that even after seven decades of freedom, Parliament doesn’t have a substantial presence of women MPs? Today, women who throw their hat into the political ring remain mostly at the receiving end of misogynistic vitriol from vicious trolls. They are routinely harassed during election campaigns. In the process, a message is sent out to them loud and clear: that being women they are not cut out for the rough and tumble of politics. In other words, the cards are stacked against them.
In fact, women with political ambitions face difficulty in first world countries too. In 1849, a French woman, Jeanne Deroin, breaking down gender stereotypes, expressed her willingness to contest elections to the French parliament. Beside themselves with anger, some insecure men made light of her decision. One man, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, in an attempt to cut the ground from under Deroin’s feet, tried to disqualify her candidacy by arguing that a female legislator made as much sense as a male wet nurse! Not the one to throw in the towel, the feisty Jeanne Deroin made a sharp riposte to him saying that she would agree with his description, but then he must tell her which part of his male body was required for the function of a legislator. Oscar Wilde once said, “Women are decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly.’’
Mahatma Gandhi had been all praise for Indian women’s inveterate traits of rectitude and self-sacrifice and believed that they were natural satyagrahis, inherently suited to carry out his mission for truth. The deeply-entrenched patriarchy, even today, has not been able to disabuse itself of many a preposterous belief as to women’s equality. It is time more and more politically inclined women were given a fair crack of the whip in the democratic process. The heartening news is, there are still some spunky and feisty women politicians around who continue to challenge male bastions by flying in the face of patriarchal beliefs.
Aditya Mukherjee, New Delhi
Prejudice against women is indeed rampant in politics but it is actually wearyingly familiar in just about every field. What women contestants go through is probably a micro history of every woman on a daily basis. This point was made by Sheenoo Diwakar, a young 22 year old, who works as a domestic help with me. Sheenoo is not educated but very confident, the kind of confidence and easy manner that come when you negotiate life independently. She walked up to me, her charming smile in place, and asked me why I was not contesting elections. Her logic was simple—I was educated, could articulate my views, well understood the problems women faced, so, why was I not arching for the bull’s eye and doing some good work. I was taken aback by her direct assault and after a bit of whataboutery, I explained to her that politics was not an easy game. Sheenoo, a mother of three, prodded me on how the life of a woman in politics was more difficult than others. She told me she juggled between four homes, doing odd jobs from morning to evening, with her husband, a mason, playing truant both from work and from home. Her point was simple, direct. A woman’s voyage was tough anyways. But only a woman could understand the concerns of other women. So till a few plucky women took the plunge and gathered the gall to enter the choppy waters of political space, nothing would ever improve. Sheenoo is not one who understands reservation or fixed percentage for women but she knows broadly that somewhere the arithmetic is wrong. Point well made Sheenoo, a little late though. You have given me food for thought for 2024.
Sangeeta Kampani, Delhi
Let the women’s representation bill pass in Parliament in order to cure our sick society.
Sonia Rather, Gurgaons
This refers to The Chief Question Is: What’s Right? (May 13). India’s judiciary is going through its roughest patch since its inception. With Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s colleagues now conducting a probe into the allegations against him, propriety demands that he should step down or at least go on leave. It is important that judicial accountability be maintained at all times. Every judge must conform to the highest standards of integrity or our temples of justice might end up as dens of chicanery. Those who are entrusted with the duty of faithfully interpreting and upholding the law cannot themselves be above it or break it.
Aires Rodrigues, Goa
Any allegation against the CJI should be considered a blot on the judiciary itself. People are shocked not just because the allegations are against one of the highest constitutional functionaries, but also due to their obnoxious nature. It’s important that the judiciary clears the air. Justice Gogoi has described these allegations as “unbelievable”. If they are found to be false, the attempt to malign the CJI must be dealt with strictly.
K.S. Jayatheertha, On E-Mail
A citizen reportedly demanded the CJI to refrain from work and set up a committee with members drawn from outside the court. The charge of sexual impropriety must be investigated and women should be treated on par with men. It is also important to investigate the crucial cases of heavyweights pending for judgement with the honourable CJI.
J.N. Bhartiya, Hyderabad
The Easter Sunday bomb blasts are the worst tragedy Sri Lanka has faced after decades of civil war with the LTTE (The Bells Tolled Fear, May 6). It is, however, baffling why Muslims should bomb churches rather than Buddhist temples, for it’s militant nationalist Buddhist who have a history of persecuting the Lankan Muslim community. Of course, after the so-called ISIS claimed responsibility it is known that the attacks were carried out in revenge for the Christchurch mosque attacks. Such attacks will only sow the seeds of disharmony between majority Buddhist Sri Lankans and the minorities, in a country which has a recent, bloody history of tension between the communities—a division which rests just below the surface of Lankan society. Worsening the chance of a proper reconciliation is the political turf wars involving Wickeremesinghe, Sirisena and Rajapaksa. Needless to say, a well-oiled political system could have stopped the outrages.
Ramesh Chaturvedi, On E-Mail
The letter mentioning the drastic change in the style and content of Outlook in the last two months (Clear The Haze, April 8) was spot on. The magazine is going downhill. Take the April 29 issue. It begins with the Congress election manifesto, which is spread over seven pages of thick glazed sheets. Surely, it is a paid advertisement. Ads have become more important than readers and viewers for the print and electronic media, but they should not be thrust down the throats of paying readers of a highly reputed magazine in such a manner. The ad could have been placed towards the end. Sam Pitroda’s two-page interview is also Congress propaganda. There are too many spotlights in each issue. How many readers will be interested in ‘mines that can lay golden eggs? The immensely popular ‘Letters’ was pruned by half—from four to two pages. In spite of protests by readers, it has not been restored to its earlier page count. To add salt to the injury, there is a full-page advertisement between the two pages of Letters, disrupting continuity. At this rate, Outlook may end up losing many old and loyal readers.
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow
The facile pen of Outlook’s editor, Ruben Banerjee, is an asset for the magazine. Over the months, I have become an ardent follower and admirer of Mr Banerjee’s exceptional ‘diaries’. The Graham Staines Diary (Apr 15) was meaningful in the context of the contemporary, BJP-inflected politics. The Staines devoted their lives and property for the betterment of the poor for a country which failed to provide them with a dignified livelihood even decades after independence. The hospital built by Staines is still treating thousands of the downtrodden. Such people aren’t provided proper healthcare, but are being steadily fed a noxious diet of Hindutva by the BJP to convert them into a votebank. Graham Staines’s devotion to India and her people cannot be measured in terms of political or religious gains. A monster like Dara needs to be seen in the light of a certain criminal ideology. The recent killings of Dabholkar and Gauri Lankesh too fall in the same category. The RSS and the BJP have poisoned the well of democracy to a degree that those who drink of it run the risk of falling grievously ill. They must be discarded.
Ashim Kumar Chakraborty, Guwahati
It’s worth wondering who the real ‘tukde-tukde gang’ is in this country (Kashmir’s Empty Voting Machines, May 6). The abysmal voter turnouts in the Valley for this general election show how utterly disillusioned the people of Kashmir are with the idea of democracy in this country. Now, a million hyper-nationalists will be quick to brand all these people anti-national. So be it: let the voter turnout in Kashmir be a test for what the people their really want, in a way, plebiscite is already embedded in the process. By not coming to the polling booths, Kashmiris are expressing their will to break away from this nation state. Compare this with the voter turnout in 2014 in the state, and one will see who is responsible for this.
Anand Lal, Hyderabad
