Reservation for women in LSG

In Kerala we are going through the election process that give 50% reservation for women in the Local Self Government bodies. Most interesting aspect is that 50 % of the posts of president / vice president are also reserved for women. Thus not only in membership of LSG, but in the administration of them, women are going to get their full share of freedom in political participation and democratic governance of their polity. This is a very welcome development; they are brought into the main stream development process of the State. This may also bring welcome changes in the functioning of these democratic bodies. More sober, well considered and less politically biased decisions may come. But this poses a few issues.

1`.In the male dominated LDF- UDF conflictive politics and contests done for its own sake of contesting or for political mileage, will we get enough women candidates to stand for election was a doubt opined by many.

But by the last day of filing nominations over 50,000 women have filed their nominations as party candidates and independents; this has been made possible because of the high level of literacy among Kerala Women and rampant educated unemployment among them. Many of the unemployed or partially employed are SSLC and degree holders. For them this is a chance to be more occupied in life. Anyway the 50 % reservation is going to be full filled. Women are getting the best opportunity to be in the main stream of the society and in the development process of the State.

2. A second issue is the incompetence they may face in their dual functions of house keeping and political participation Women have to perform their biological function of bearing and rearing their children and the consequent house keeping function. When they are called to participate in political functions, it is an additional duty demanded. Will women be able to perform both these functions well or fail?

In our patriarchal system of inheritance, male domination and the division of labour on gender basis, made women to confine to house-keeping and men to dominance and outside duties. So giving them reservation is forcing them to take up the dual function. It may result in both functions imperfectly executed. Ill-reared children and ill-managed panchayats may be the outcome. Thus both the society and political administration may get murky and chaotic.

It is our experience that education and health care areas are mostly manned by women. They do their dual role here fairly well. This became possible because these services are ghetto areas from which men have escalated because of low wages. The vacuum thus created got filled up by educated unemployed women.
Secondly both employments are akin to child rearing and are concomitants to their housekeeping function.


3. A third problem is the possibility of gagging the women presidents and members from exercising their free political participation right by Party Boss or male leaders or even their husbands. Male chauvinism enjoyed by them for the last many centuries may make men to assume that women are incapable of leading or administering an office or a group of members. They are likely to boss over. This is quite a possibility.

Only women can conceive and deliver children. But men can share the burden of women in housekeeping and rearing the children. Women can succeed in their dual role only if they are encouraged and helped by their husbands and the men folk. Wherever they got such support they have proved themselves to be great successes and to fly off after the initial stage of getting experienced in administrative functions. We expect this 50% reservation for women to bring great social change and development in Kerala.

14 Oct 2010 Prof. Joseph K Alexander
Chairman, IIPA KRB

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