The first ever conference of women legislators, which was recently held in Delhi, deemed women as stakeholders in resurgent India, says Dr D BHAllA
The first ever conference of women legislators of India was held in New Delhi on March 5-6 under the supervision of the Speaker of lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan, ahead of the International Women’s Day on March 8. The two-day conference was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The presence of the President, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi signified the importance that the constitutional dignitaries attached to the event. While the President and Vice-President delivered inspiring speeches, and the Speaker welcomed the dignitaries and the delegates, the presence of the Prime Minster at the inaugural ceremony, who spoke later at the valedictory function the next day in the Central Hall of Parliament, was an endorsement of his unstinted support to the conference.
President Mukherjee, while applauding Modi for his Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative, thanked the PM for attending the inaugural function as a gesture of his support to the laudable objectives being discussed.
Welcoming the President, Mahajan said he combines in himself the finest virtues of a sagacious head of state, an astute administrator and an outstanding Parliamentarian. As such, his words of wisdom, based on many years of intimate association with the highest institution of governance, will indeed set the tone for the discussion.
Yet another dignitary on the high table was the Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury. It may be mentioned that Dr Chaudhury is the Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. His participation will give further impetus to the relationship between the two countries and Parliaments. It is not out of place to mention that Bangladesh has the unique distinction of having both the woman Prime Minister and the woman leader of Opposition, besides the Speaker of the Parliament.
To reinforce the point of empowered women in South Asia, Najma Heptulla, Union Minister of Minority Affairs, said that while in the US, Hillary Clinton is fighting for the exalted office of the President, the subcontinent has had a female President or Prime Minister in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri lanka at some point of time or the other.
The interest and enthusiasm of the participants of the conference were palpable, which could be gauged from their insightful interventions and critical inputs drawn from their grassroot experiences. The theme of the conference was carefully worded: ‘Women legislators: Building Resurgent India’ so as to make it distinct from hackneyed women’s empowerment, on which a lot has already been discussed and written.
PM Modi asserted as to who were men to empower womenIJ He argued that there was a need to change the mental state regarding women empowerment. Empowerment is for those who are not empowered. He posed the question, “What does the empowerment of those who are already powerful meanIJ” He appreciated the active participation of the delegates and hoped that the knowledge gained would help them find solutions in their constituencies.
He stressed that more than the outcome of the conference, the informal contacts developed during it are of immense importance for sharing experiences and views. Observing that women are inherently empowered, he goaded the legislators to be aware of their inner strength which cannot be realised unless they face challenges. He called upon the women legislators to recognise their strength as agents of change and emphasised that they should channelise their experiences with their counterparts in local bodies. In this context, the PM expressed optimism about “women-led development, rather than development of women”.
He further stated that although multi-tasking is a modern managerial concept, it comes naturally to women who have been practising it for ages. Illustrating the resilience of women compared to men, he cited the experience of Rwanda where a majority of men were killed, impelling women to shoulder greater responsibilities both at home and in the governance of the country. The country now boasts of 65 per cent women representation in Parliament.
lauding the role of women, he said women as mothers build the character of the children, who are the future citizens. He also urged women legislators to take keen interest in lawmaking and develop expertise and specialisation in one or two subjects of their interest. Women legislators should use and adapt technology for better communication with their constituents, performance and knowledge gain, he said. He called upon the lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats to develop an e-platform for the use of women legislators.
The deliberations of the conference were not only stimulating and thought-provoking, but a number of doable suggestions emerged from it. How women and women legislators can make a difference in the development paradigm of the country was the overarching theme of the informed deliberations of the conference, which focused on issues such as social development, economic development, governance and legislation.
Drawing on experiences from her vast public life, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said while women councillors from her South Delhi Parliamentary constituency would demand funds from the MPlAD scheme for construction of toilets in their wards, men councillors would give preference to construction of benches in parks.
Being India’s second woman Minister for External Affairs after Indira Gandhi, who also held the portfolio of the first woman Prime Minister of the country she also shared her experience as to how being a woman, she was more sensitive to women in distress. Narrating one such instance, she said when she received a tweet from an Indian woman stranded abroad, who had lost her passport and documents, she swiftly informed the Indian Embassy to help her. The point she tried to drive home was that women by nature are sensitive and caring.
A point that emerged during the discussion was that women legislators should be more involved in implementation and monitoring of projects and schemes such as the mid-day meals. It was also recognised that increase of women in the labour force will boost India’s GDP.
As many as 262 women legislators from legislative Councils and legislative Assemblies, besides women ministers such as Najma Heptulla, Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani, Maneka Gandhi, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Uma Bharti, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, and Members of Parliament cutting across party lines, including Kirron Kher, Poonam Mahajan, Supriya Sule, K Kavita, Sushmita Dev, Geetha K and Poonam Madan participated in the conference.
Former lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, former Chief Secretary and Secretary to the Government of India Shailaja Chandra, and former Justice of India Ranjana Desai also participated in the event.
The writer is an IAS officer currently serving as Secretary in the lok Sabha Secretariat. The views expressed are personal