My takes on India’s women quota bill

India parliament to vote on women quota bill

NEW DELHI : India’s parliament was set to vote Monday on a landmark bill reserving one third of seats for women, with the government confident it can pass the legislation that has been stalled for 14 years.

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Interesting.

I am a feminist but to be honest, I am disturbed by the possible consequences of this bill, should it be passed.

I suppose this bill is meant to secure seats for women in a country where gender importance is very much at different ends. Yet is this the correct way to empower women?

It is my opinion that Ms. Sonia Gandhi should push for a meritocracy system instead of going the “easier” way out. A system would push people up based on their capabilities. But the quota bill will serve to permeate what the males had done all along – power/merit based on your gender.

There are many more male politicians than female. How many of those males and females are actually capable and talented enough to have the seats?

That brings another question mark – what kind of people will they appoint just to fill up the quota? Will they appoint anyone just to make up the numbers? At the same time, people who are actually capable of doing the job are being kept out just because they are not female. Isn’t this reverse discrimination? Appointing people just to make up the numbers – isn’t this another form of discrimination too? Women are able to be there simply because they are female, not because they can really do the work. If I am promoted in my workplace simply because I am a woman and not because my value and working abilities are appreciated and truly wanted, I would feel rather perplexed.

I’m not saying that women can’t be politicians or can’t do political work. What I’m concerned is that the bill would promote the appointment of any Jane, Helen and Mina just to fill up the quota while keeping out people who can really do the job simply because they are not female. Does this sound familiar? Isn’t this exactly what women are going through? Does it really help if we do the same, and make the same mistakes all over again? And if any Jane, Helen and Mina are appointed to make up the numbers, and they fail to perform, how is this going to help women? It will just make us look bad, and people will feel more justified about discriminating against women in high positions.

Maybe I’m worrying too much. If this bill comes to pass, we can only rely on trust that talented people will be appointed and they will leave seats empty until they can find capable people to fill in the spots (is this workable anyway?). Also, this may actually serve to promote capable women who were unjustly kept out of the scenes due to gender discrimination.