WOMEN’S POWER AT THE FOREFRONT

Political parties in India are increasingly realizing the power of the female voter. This is evident from the way they are competing with one another in offering sops to women in states going to the polls early next year. The increased thrust on women-centric announcements by parties and state governments is an encouraging sign and marks a rise in the clout of female members, who used to be taken for granted by most parties until recently.

One of the first to try and woo women voters has been the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, which is going to the polls next year. Building up the party’s campaign for the 2022 assembly elections in the crucial heartland state, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra pledged to make womenfolk a “full-fledged partner in power”. She has announced that her party will give 40% tickets to women candidates. She has also promised free travel in government buses to women, if voted to power.

In Punjab, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently promised a monthly grant of Rs 1,000 for all women above 18 years of age. The Congress, which is presently ruling the state, has doled out schemes like free bus rides and 33% reservation in government jobs for women.

In Uttarakhand, where a BJP government is in power, Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently launched CM Ghasiyari Yojana under which the women in the hills, where they have to trek 2 to 10 kms to gather cattle feed, will be provided with a kit to gather fodder.

Results of previous elections in states such as Odisha and Bihar have brought the power of women into sharp focus. In Bihar, where a JD(U)-BJP was voted back to power last year, women voted overwhelmingly in favour of the combine, a fact acknowledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. In Odisha, women members have been voting loyally for the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal ever since 2000, when Patnaik came to power for the first time after dislodging the Congress from office.

Patnaik has been able to build up a strong women vote bank by launching a string of women-centric schemes which not only help them in myriad ways but also seek to make them economically self-dependent. The tremendous success of the women self-help group (SHG) movement under the aegis of Mission Shakti, which is now a full-fledged government department, has created a role model for the rest of the country.

Led by Sujata R Karthikeyan, one of the finest IAS officers of the state, Mission Shakti has been setting new benchmarks by making women truly empowered and self-reliant.

With deft efficiency, Karthikeyan has been engineering and overseeing a rising number of engagements between various government departments and WSHGs to ensure sustainable income and livelihood opportunities for the latter. One of the most recent outcomes of such efforts was the establishment of Odisha’s first exclusive Millet Shakti Café in Keonjhar. A collaboration between Mission Shakti and Odisha Millets Mission, and managed by the Women SHG Federation, the outlet was conceptualised to sell packaged grains and millet-based hot cooked items – all as part of an endeavour to revive the tradition of millet consumption for nutrition among tribal communities.

Impressed by the success of the women SHG movement, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had made septuagenarian SHG leader Pramila Bisoi BJD’s Lok Sabha candidate from Aska. She won hands down.

Patnaik, like his legendary father Biju Patnaik, has proved to be a true feminist. What he has done for the empowerment of women has become an example for the rest of the country. Thanks to him, in the coming years we may find more political parties and state governments doing much more for women.