A few weeks ago, I was trudging along a flight of stairs with a handbag on one shoulder, my laptop bag on the other and by arms carrying a pile of books. My friend, commented, “ Oh, like that?”
Noticing that that was his subtle suggestion at being chivalrous, I smiled and replied, “ Yes, what to do, beauty of burden, you see!” The staircase was filled with peals of laughter!
When the public discourse on the OROP (One Rank One Pension) was getting more vigorous, our Finance Minister, Shri. Arun Jaitley, in an interview stated rather simply (though not simplistically), that his “job was like that of a housewife”. I must mention here that Shri. Jaitley is one of the most articulate, refined and knowledgeable ministers in the present government. His making a statement like that did not belittle the many housewives in the nation; au contraire, he drew attention to the importance of that task. It’s a different matter that no government has ever valued or included the contribution of the housewife in the economic evaluation of the nation. I do not think even Shri. Arun Jaitley will do so.
The state of the Woman in India is quite paradoxical: at one time the three most powerful people in India were women - the President, Smt.Pratibha Patil, the leader of the ruling party, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar, yet women in the corporate workforce are unable to break the glass ceiling, our representation among law makers is still at around 11% despite comprising almost 50% of the population, the lopsided sex ratios, partly triggered by the desire for a male child and crimes against women are all the other part of the story. And yes, we also had a woman as a Prime Minister In Smt. Indira Gandhi, while the world’s oldest democracy and the most developed nation has failed to project and elect a woman strong enough for the nation’s top job!
So, while Shri.Narendra Modi combined business with blitz on his recent tour of the U.S.A., he made one very pertinent comment about having the women of the country walk shoulder to shoulder with the men in India’s newfound development story. There’s a lot that needs to be done in this regard and I wish that this goes beyond reciting a few scripted lines.
The welfare of women is the starting point in this story - tackling maternal mortality rates, crimes against women, discrimination against the female child and reservation for women in the workforce etc are only a few steps that need more impetus. Personally, I am in favour of legalising one of the world’s oldest professions, prostitution, too! That way, there can be many policies that can regulate the welfare of women who are attached to this trade per force. Italy is debating on allowing the income from prostitution to be taxed and added to the GDP; where that heads is something for us all to wait and watch. But that I shall reserve for another time!
I think we need to look at the simple ways in which women can share the power in development - start by respecting her capabilities just the way Shri.Jaitley did; learn to recognise the fervour she carries within herself to provide for a better future for the children she bares and acknowledge that she is as strong as, if not stronger than, her male counterpart in this story. The dialogues have been delivered; now we shall await the punch in the villain’s face!
(Sorry, but I just love my Indian movies!)
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