The fight for more women’s representation in Parliament and legislatures should not be one that should be taken up just by women only, but by all political parties, CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating a Raj Bhavan march organised by the party demanding that the Centre pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in the next session.
‘Abysmally low’
‘‘The issue of women’s representation is, more than anything else, one to ensure social justice and equality of genders. India stands at 149th position in women’s representation in Parliament. We just have 11.8% women in Lok Sabha and 11.1% in Rajya Sabha. This is abysmally low, even lower than Pakistan and Bangladesh with around 20% representation each,’’ Mr. Balakrishnan said.
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raises only mere slogans for women’s rights, but has never taken any concrete step in that direction.
‘‘Before Parliament elections, the BJP had promised to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha. But, even after three years, no steps have been taken in this direction.
The party’s attitude is anti-women. It is led by the RSS, which does not even allow women representation in any of its committees. They are followers of the principles of Manu Smriti, as per which women do not deserve any freedom and should always remain subservient to men,’’ he said.
Mr. Balakrishnan said the LDF government had brought in laws to increase women's representation at various levels.
Former Rajya Sabha MP T.N. Seema said the All India Democratic Women’s Association had been for the past two decades at the forefront of the fight to ensure women’s representation in Parliament. The BJP had failed to deliver on its promises regarding women’s representation and safety.