A silent revolution
That women have become more empowered at the grass roots level doesnt hit headlines
Bad news makes good copy. No wonder the print and electronic media, day in and day out, keep highlighting bad things happening in our society. Murder and rape have become national news. In the absence of 24/7 news channels, we could not have imagined a gruesome murder like that of Aarushi Talwar dominate the news channels for days together. Yet, from all this, some good has come out.
Newspapers regularly report dowry deaths and rape cases. Consequently, the BPO industry is seriously focusing on the issue of safety of women at the workplace. Sexual harassment at workplaces has become a very common issue. Added to this litany of bias against women are the recurring tales of female infanticide. This has resulted in a highly distorted sex ratio in some states like Haryana, where men outnumber women 750 women for 1,000 men seems to be the trend in some North Indian states.
Is that all? No. I find that silently, a gender revolution is taking place in our country, with women becoming more empowered. One of the most dramatic cases of success that have hit the headlines is Indra Nooyi becoming CEO of Pepsi. But what has not been highlighted is the silent empowerment of women that is taking place.
The high drama of the 30 per cent reservation of seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures grabs the headlines. Thanks to the cynical manipulation by our male politicians, there is a possibility that the fate of the Womens Reservation Bill will be that of the old chestnut. The Lok Pal Bill righting corruption and gender justice are like motherhood and apple pie. No one can openly oppose them in a polite democracy, but when push comes to shove, they all shrink back. No wonder, the Lok Pal Bill is hanging fire for 30 years and has been introduced eight times in Parliament. The Womens Reservation Bill is following the same track. But, the quiet manner in which the reservation of seats for women in Panchayats and local bodies has brought about a revolution does not get highlighted. It is true that initially, women who became sarpanches were puppets in the hands of their husbands. But later, the scene changed and women started asserting themselves.
The self-help groups, promoted inter alia by clever and imaginative companies like Hindustan Lever the Shakti Ammas are playing a major role in the economic empowerment of women.
That is not all. If IT is Indias tomorrow, it is the women who are going to call the shots there. Sixty per cent of the students in IT courses in the South are girls.
At every prize distribution ceremony in any co-educational institution, girls walk away with the prizes while the boys are left ogling (I suppose) behind.
There is yet another angle to the forward push the girls are receiving. They seem to cherish the value of integrity and the need to remove the all-pervasive corruption in our country. In competitions conducted by NGOs among students of schools and colleges on an all-India basis, it is girls who dominate both in the percentage of participants and winners. In a recent competition, out of 450 entries, 78 per cent were girls. In the presentation at the prize distribution function, four out of the five colleges selected were womens colleges. The mega trend is obvious. Our girls are getting empowered not only economically but are displaying a robust sense of integrity and values. As a 70-year-old Indian, I am happy for my country.
In the last decade, N Vittal, the former CVC, emerged as the voice of our collective conscience. This is his weekly take on public life in India
Women seem to cherish the value of integrity and the need to remove the all-pervasive corruption in our country