There is a huge debate going on about the women's reservation bill. While some of them who are genuinely interested in not seeing this go through, have taken recourse to the extreme step of disrupting assembly proceedings, the vast majority still belong to those who seem to be indifferent to the whole issue. However, there are still others like my good friend Sukumar, who wonders whether this reservation can be extended to other walks of life too, including corporate life. The microfinance movement in that sense has been a great leveler. With women being the preferred clients of more than 99% of the microfinance institutions, urban and rural women among the poorer sections of society seem to be wielding greater influence in their own lives as well as that of their families, and to some extent the societies they live in.
I was privileged to be one of the guest speakers at the recent Business Line Guest Lecture series conducted at the Saveetha University's School of Management. Mr. Vasudevan of Equitas who was presented the special address spoke of the role of microfinance in empowering the women in these societies. While Microfinance may not actually alleviate poverty, what it certainly has managed to do is to make women go beyond the portals of their homes and become even more independent. It was quite a revelation to either discover that more than 60% of the women who are part of the microfinance movement are widows, or have been abandoned by their husbands; the vast majority of those who did have husbands living with them, were probably worse off than those who did not have a male member supporting the family! And in a society where the woman has predominantly been viewed as someone who cooks and cleans, microfinance has been their source of deliverance – given them new respect in their families, and in society. They are now independent, and thanks to their ability to bring home the money, have started having a say in their personal lives.
Why are women preferred over men for offering microfinance services? Well, according to most MFIs, women are more reliable and trustworthy. They are a lot more responsible than men, and have a better understanding of how to stretch the rupee to meet their monthly expenses. More importantly, women are more conscientious about returning the money they have borrowed – which perhaps accounts for the incredibly low default rates we see among MFIs.
How does this translate to reservations or women empowerment? Microfinance has allowed women to start playing a role that extends beyond the fireplace. They now are beginning to have a say in how the money is spent, and are able to influence decisions on savings, education and healthcare for their children. More importantly, some of them assume leadership roles in the SHGs, and this in turn is giving them the power to voice their opinion in community meetings. This is surely transformational in nature, and with SHGs forming clusters, these women will begin to expand their circle of influence. If the MF experience is anything to go by, then we should definitely see a positive impact of women getting into politics. And until such time that this does not happen through a process of natural selection, it may be necessary to introduce legislation to create that momentum.
Yatra Naryastu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devata
Where women are worshipped, there live the Gods.
I believe that we do need reservation, if nothing else to help in restoring balance…or help tilt the scale a wee bit to the feminine side.
1 comment:
I cannot but agree with u on your views regarding microfinance. I have dealt with women from these downtrodden sections myself ,having worked in micro insurance for sometime . Micro insurance is largely opted for, by the SHGs and your views regarding these women are very intuitive and succinct.
Personally, I think that reservation is not the panacea to the problems that beset our women. To enact laws it requires a majority, and 33% is not that , surely. And , if any bill does not turn out to be a money/vote spinner , it would not translate into acts. And I have seen even educated women who are not very informed, blame it indifference orthe preoccupation with the nitty gritties of running of a family.
Reservation for women has its pros and cons, and the cons outweigh the pros.
My personal belief is that that one ounce of schemes that provide economic independence for women , is worth pounds of legislation for women. One of the cons of reservation bill is that, it would at best be used by our politicians to ruling by proxy , along the lines of Rabri and Lallu.
But ,it is evidenced by the disruption of parliamentary proceedings that our politicians are not willing to concede to sharing power even with their siblings/ wi(fe)ves .
But in a country like ours, almost all the social welfare schemes like abolition of sati, abolition of untouchablity, universal franchise have been achieved only through legislation. May be some day in the distant future if and when the bill is passed ( a very remote possibility) it sure, is not going to be milk and honey.
On the other hand, any scheme that empowers women must be that makes them financially independent. Bride burning and dowry deaths have reduced a lot in the recent times because of the job opportunities that have placed them on par with women.
The article is very well thought out and really good as it addresses the real issues .
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