There are two ways in which the Women’s Reservation Bill will positively impact Indian society and even the Indian economy. It has been established throughout the world that the empowerment of women at the grassroots level leads to positive changes in social attitudes. I will give two concrete examples from India to illustrate this point. We all know that Kerala enjoys the highest literacy rates, the lowest maternal mortality and infant mortality rates in the country. While Kerala may not be as industrially advanced as states like Maharashtra, it boasts admirable human development indicators. This was possible primarily because women across the state were empowered through education. The second example comes from Rajasthan where volunteer ‘saathins’ have played a tremendous role in curbing social evils like child marriage. Imagine the difference women can make if they are similarly empowered all over India. The Women’s Reservation Bill will of course not have a direct and immediate impact when it comes to transforming Indian society. But it will matter a lot in the long run. Just as educated and empowered women improve the ‘social’ profile of a family, they will eventually do something similar with Indian society as a whole.
The Bill, when it becomes law, will also have a hugely positive impact on the Indian economy. It has been established through studies and research that the GDP growth rate of a country goes up by 1.5% to 3% when women become active members of the workforce. It has also been repeatedly proven in Third World countries that women, especially poor women, make a tremendous difference to the economic status of their family when they are economically empowered. The Grameen Bank concept pioneered by Nobel Prize winner Mohammed Younus in Bangladesh is a classic example of how economic empowerment can lift rural families out of poverty. In India, the body SEWA pioneered by Ela Bhatt is another example of how the active participation of women in economic and productive activities can create miracles for a poor family. Even in Andhra Pradesh, where so many farmers have unfortunately committed suicide due to crop failures and debt, micro credit institutions giving finance to poor women have literally lifted thousands of families out of the clutches of poverty. The Women’s Reservation Bill will not make an immediate impact on this front. But it will send a huge and powerful message across the country that the age of economic empowerment of Indian women has finally arrived. The sheer symbolic value of this message will be incalculable.
We in India have usually paid lip service to women and revered them as deities even while they were exploited and marginalised. The Bill will be a gigantic step towards changing this. It will possibly take one generation for the real impact of the Bill to be felt across India. But when change happens, even the critics and cynics will marvel at the power and success that empowerment of women can bring about.
The Bill, when it becomes law, will also have a hugely positive impact on the Indian economy. It has been established through studies and research that the GDP growth rate of a country goes up by 1.5% to 3% when women become active members of the workforce. It has also been repeatedly proven in Third World countries that women, especially poor women, make a tremendous difference to the economic status of their family when they are economically empowered. The Grameen Bank concept pioneered by Nobel Prize winner Mohammed Younus in Bangladesh is a classic example of how economic empowerment can lift rural families out of poverty. In India, the body SEWA pioneered by Ela Bhatt is another example of how the active participation of women in economic and productive activities can create miracles for a poor family. Even in Andhra Pradesh, where so many farmers have unfortunately committed suicide due to crop failures and debt, micro credit institutions giving finance to poor women have literally lifted thousands of families out of the clutches of poverty. The Women’s Reservation Bill will not make an immediate impact on this front. But it will send a huge and powerful message across the country that the age of economic empowerment of Indian women has finally arrived. The sheer symbolic value of this message will be incalculable.
We in India have usually paid lip service to women and revered them as deities even while they were exploited and marginalised. The Bill will be a gigantic step towards changing this. It will possibly take one generation for the real impact of the Bill to be felt across India. But when change happens, even the critics and cynics will marvel at the power and success that empowerment of women can bring about.
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