The women reservation bill for ensuring quota for women is here and likely to become a reality. A point to ponder is that Are our women really ready to take up the mantle?
The niggling doubt in mind and unseen writing on the wall says -......"not at all".
Barring a few women who belong to active political families and have their fathers,brothers, in-laws families and husbands already in the politics , the rest of women in the society are not trained,sensitised or ready for the role which is going to be thrust on them by this new women reservation. The reasons are very clear because in the house holds she is led by men and in society too she has been following her man from centuries. All this needs to be taken into account at this stage to mentor and groom future women politicians who are not from political background or lineage.
So then what should be done by the powers that be - to make women aware about their constitutional role and responsibilities from the level of Panchayat to Parliament pan India.
The time is fast running out for Govt of India ( if it has the will) to really empower women. Because in actual sense they should prepare women before they bring in the legislation? But nobody is giving it a heed . The Central/state governments should start programmes to specifically train them. The future women leaders have to be educated ,trained and supported continuously so as to help them to assume and perform their assigned role in the governance of the state at all the three tiers. This has to be done so that their husbands do not usurp the actual powers while they remain just ornamental elected representatives. This cannot be done unless we train and test them on their assigned constitutional roles. Otherwise they will not measure up to their male counter parts.
The niggling doubt in mind and unseen writing on the wall says -......"not at all".
Barring a few women who belong to active political families and have their fathers,brothers, in-laws families and husbands already in the politics , the rest of women in the society are not trained,sensitised or ready for the role which is going to be thrust on them by this new women reservation. The reasons are very clear because in the house holds she is led by men and in society too she has been following her man from centuries. All this needs to be taken into account at this stage to mentor and groom future women politicians who are not from political background or lineage.
So then what should be done by the powers that be - to make women aware about their constitutional role and responsibilities from the level of Panchayat to Parliament pan India.
The time is fast running out for Govt of India ( if it has the will) to really empower women. Because in actual sense they should prepare women before they bring in the legislation? But nobody is giving it a heed . The Central/state governments should start programmes to specifically train them. The future women leaders have to be educated ,trained and supported continuously so as to help them to assume and perform their assigned role in the governance of the state at all the three tiers. This has to be done so that their husbands do not usurp the actual powers while they remain just ornamental elected representatives. This cannot be done unless we train and test them on their assigned constitutional roles. Otherwise they will not measure up to their male counter parts.
- The biggest challenge for a novice is to know and learn - even bigger challenge is to unlearn what they learnt which is wrong and follow the path which is right .
- They need to be trained because in order to become good leaders they must know all about public administration and governance.
- It is required so that they learn and know all about their rights, duties, responsibilities, rules and regulations.
- Above all they need to know the functioning and character of present day bureaucratic structure. They need to know who controls whom so that they do not end up as rubber stamps.
- They need to be taught about the strengths , weaknesses ,hollowness and failures of the existing system so that they know that the whole system before they enter it.
- They need to know that system is not corrupt by itself but made so by political-bureaucratic nexus. They need to be taught what has happened and what can happens to corrupt leaders and bureaucrats who do not stay with in rules of honest and transparent public dealing and functioning.
- The need to be taught about the honourous task of dealing with public money without being corrupt.
- The need to have total commitment to public they are serving being public servants and to have impeccable integrity while being a political leader needs to be over emphasised to them in to days very corrupt environment.
- They must know it all and they must be taught to choose the right but difficult path. They need to be taught all about what happens to corrupt political leaders - the laws which can strangle them and finish their careers. They need to be told that the red beacon vehicle can be driven straight to jail also.
