‘Gender equality should be a key index in measuring health of democracy’
The Hindu
Gender empowerment is too often left out of the calculus when evaluating the strength of a country’s democracy, says Malini Parthasarathy
Gender equality should be taken seriously as an index in measuring the health of India’s democracy, said Malini Parthasarathy, chairperson, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, here on Friday.
She was delivering the keynote address during a session on ‘Increasing female empowerment in India’s growth story’ at the two-day annual leadership conclave organised by the Indian Women Network (IWN) Southern Region.
Gender empowerment was too often left out of the calculus when evaluating the strength of a country’s democracy, unlike factors like caste, class, religion and region, which had much emphasis, she said.
“What is required is the voicing of a vigorous female perspective on political issues, an unapologetic highlighting of the priorities for women and a more emphatic enunciation of women’s rights being seen as an integral part of the democratic package,” she said.
Though there was a substantial representation of women in the Indian Parliament and State Assemblies, she said that unlike in Western democracies, the women leaders here tend to stay in the shadows, barring a few exceptions.
With cities like Chennai and Delhi having women Mayors, she said the situation was not all bleak, but changing. “However, there is a lingering sense of unease that these are still tokens of female representation and not part of a seamless mosaic of diversity so integral to an enduring democratic vision,” Dr. Parthasarathy said.