By Tanvi Kanchan
Surprise, surprise: parties in the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are nowhere close to reflecting gender parity in candidates or significant commitment to gender-based issues, according to a study by social and gender justice NGO Prajnya. Tamil Nadu’s political parties fare very poorly on their recently released Gender Equality Election Checklist, which is based on criteria ranging from tolerance for violence in speech or action to strength and clarity of positions in favour of gender equality.
Despite the fact that one of the most recognisable political figures in the state is a woman, the report reveals that only 8.5 percent of all candidates are female (along with two transgender candidates out of the total of 3785). It’s more than double what it was in the 2011 elections – 143 women then as opposed to over 320 now. But it’s not good enough.
The MDMK and AIADMK clock in the highest percentage of female candidates with 13.8 percent and 13.7 percent respectively, while at the other end of the spectrum, DMDK has just one female candidate in their total of 104. Additionally, according to the Election Commission of Tamil Nadu, 22 constituencies in the state don’t have even a single non-male candidate contesting elections.
A pertinent point that the report brings to light is the nature of the proposed gender-based reforms. ”Parties are inclined to focus on protection of women and other gender minorities rather than creating the conditions for eliminating the threat of violence,” the report states, pointing to the DMK’s mobile app for safety and PWF’s prohibition of women working overtime as examples.
Disappointingly, gender equality isn’t a priority even for the voter base. According to a survey conducted by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (which Prajnya’s report also quotes), women’s empowerment ranked 11th on urban voters’ priority lists, after issues like noise pollution and traffic congestion, and 17th on the list of rural voters following issues of agricultural subsidies and water pollution. While not entirely surprising, it’s still concerning that the discussion on gender equality has failed to take the forefront, with party speeches rarely addressing them.
This can be juxtaposed with the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK’s recently released manifesto that makes a heap of promises for women voters. It’s more than what other parties are promising – the DMK is assuring an increase in financial support to existing women’s self-help groups, apart from their mobile app and other vaguely stated reforms – but still doesn’t do enough. The AIADMK’s manifesto includes giving 8gm of gold to women about to get married, Rs 18,000 in maternity assistance with 9 months of maternity leave, a subsidy of up to 50 percent for working women looking to purchase scooters, and subsidised health check-up centres for women.
The report concludes that there’s a need for parties to frame manifestos that truly represent the interests of people more than ever, instead of disregarding roughly half the population consisting of non-male voters. There’s an urgent need for gender-disaggregated data (instead of having to rely on media reports to file research), and effective dialogue between party and voter is required to truly push our democratic process along the path to gender equality.