Why not a woman President for India?

Ironies never end, do they? We pass bills restricting night shifts for women, effectively asking them to go home at a”decent” hour and stay put. Then we glibly talk of nominating a woman for the post of President of the Republic. Ha!
Mr. AP Bardhan, leader, CPI is all for a woman’s name in the list of probables. “We suggested Lakshmi Sehgal (of Netaji’s Azad Hind Fauz fame) ’s name last time,” he said, answering Karan Thapar’s question in “Devil’s Advocate”. Bardhan wouldn’t mention a name ["hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"] but said, “There are many illustrious women. We’ll be happy to support a suitable one for the Prez’s post.”
“Why not Sudha Murthy?” I said, watching the programme. “She’s President of Infosys Foundation, she has vast experience running an organisation. She is well-read, is a writer, has a tech background, understands business and is a charming speaker. She has this simple, next-door aunty image that all of us can relate to.” I paused for breath.
“I would vote for Shabana Azmi,” said my husband surprising me totally. “It’s time Bollywood was represented by someone at the highest level. Movies are our biggest export. Bollywood movies gross millions of dollars. In fact, Bollywood movies are now made exclusively for the starving-for-home diaspora across the world. Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham is a good example. Half the world hums our film songs, starting with “Mera jhootha hai Japani”. The other half is of course watching the films. Bollywood dance is a rage in the west. Film star for Prez! A great idea!”
“Good lord,” I said. “Is that why you’d support Azmi’s Presidency?”
“Oh, no,” he said. “Azmi qualifies because of her talents. She is well educated and is extremely articulate. She is an activist, cares for the poor and displaced. Above all, she is a moderate. She will keep the Imams of this country in check.”
Right. Do you have a favourite woman for Prez?

Night jobs for women 2

Here’s Uthra, a young friend whom I had the privilege to teach.
Keep venting your thoughts, Uthra. Your prose is a pleasure to read. As for your opinions on the latest tamasha from our “representatives”, I couldn’t agree with you more!
Uthra | uthra.mohan@in.standardchartered.com
Hi ma’am,
We seem to do this a lot, don’t we? Take two steps forward, then tumble down a whole flight of stairs!!!!
It seems ridiculous that of all the Indian states, Karnataka would be the one to pass a bill like this.This is after all the state that gave us the BPO culture, the technological edge, the workforce that never sleeps…..Karnataka redefined the term “export economy” by making Bangalore the nerve centre of a low-cost global business scene, and now is adding to its considerable woes by “ban”ishing half its colony of ants from the third shift!!
I think that as you’d mentioned, the government will be forced to rethink its stand and will retract the bill. What we need is to make an effort to move towards a more women-friendly governance set-up, one that is a long term solution and not just a reaction to the latest tamasha! Where exactly has the whole reservation debate taken us, and when will we see a change in our systems?
Here are some stats I picked up on women in India….while the population data is sourced from the 2001 Census, it still gives us some inkling of what these numbers’ll look like today.
No. of Women in India (2001) : 496 mn (25% were part of the mainstream workforce)
India’s female population is larger than the combined total populations of Canada, USA and the Russian Federation.
No. of Women for every 1,000 men : 933
Women Literacy In India : 54% (compared to 76% men)
In India every 26 minutes, a woman is molested
In India every 34 minutes, a woman is raped.
In India every 42 minutes, an incident of sexual harassment takes place.
In India every 43 minutes, a woman is kidnapped.
In India every 93 minutes, a woman is killed.
It’s amazing that a World Economic Forum report places India ahead of US, France and Japan in empowering women politically!!We of course find ourselves at the bottom of the pack when it comes to economic participation, women’s education and health. In 2006, a survey of 115 world economies – The Global Gender Gap Report, ranked India 20th in empowering women politically and a sorry 98th when the other parameters mentioned above are considered.
Our government seems to have forgotten that public safety and security is still its responsibility. We need to beef up our laws and allow the Indian woman to carry on with her toil and trouble….after all, we only get limited help! I see the average male wearing more jewellery than the average female today…perhaps, given the security threat, both genders should stay at home after eight in the evening. After all, Indian companies that operate on Indian soil should be able to provide the whole Indian working public with jobs that don’t require time-zone based shifts??
Sorry about the breathless prose….guess I’m venting more than blogging
You see what’s happening here, Uthra? You have these horrendous stats about rape/molestation and the government picks those up to justify a curfew! My anger is also about selective curfew.
A word on Indian women being politically empowered. Now that hides an inconvenient truth. We do have 33% reaservation for women in local bodies, but how many of them hold office de facto? Ours is a country where men will pray to goddesses at temples, fall at the feet of a woman at the top of the political ladder and come home and abuse the wife. How many women feel economically empowered even when they earn? Do they have total control over how they spend it? One investment banker told me: “even when the money belongs to the wife, it is the husband who has the final say in the investment.”