Election wishlist: Women want new govt to focus on maternal health, safety

NEW DELHI: As emotions run high and campaigning picks up pace in the multi-phased Lok Sabha polls, the wishlist for the new government has grown. Even as political parties try to woo all sections of voters, they have trained their focus on a section that is often ignored in election manifestos: women.

In a panel discussion on ET Now, women leaders - cutting across the spectrum - hailed the commitment and the initiative taken by political parties to make it an inclusive and diverse poll pitch. However, more needed to be articulated when it came to crucial areas of concern like women's health, education, safety and jobs.

Shamika Ravi, director of think-tank Brookings India, emphasised that women's health, for long, has been on the backburner, and it is high time that the new government took it up on priority. Calling health a political topic, she said that safety and education came close second on her list of action items.

Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson at Apollo Hospitals Group, who incidentally could not cast her vote in Hyderabad in the first phase after her name was missing, listed equality as a top to-do thing. Development begins at home, she said, and sons should be taught to work in tandem with women, wives and sisters, and eventually help them feel safe.

For Indian stand-up comedian Aditi Mittal, while maternal health figured on top, women's safety and jobs also needed to be addressed by 2020.

Pinky Reddy, a philanthropist and former President of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), also agreed that safety is a top priority for women to sustain themselves.

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has committed a 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies for their welfare and development. The Congress manifesto, in addition to BJP's proclamation, has promised 33 per cent reservation for women for appointment to Central Government jobs. Moreover, they have also made provision for improvement in women safety and an increase in gender equality.

The women leaders said that the parties haven't done much despite being progressive.

Ravi mentioned that things have improved drastically for women in the last in 15 years. "The political parties have introduced active policies to caters the women voter base", she added.

However, she also pointed out that the political parties must lower cost of entry to enable women to utilise 33% reservation in Parliament. Agreeing to Ravi, Kamineni said that if the process to get candidates out there becomes expensive, the entire process will be futile.

Kamineni also expressed that implementation and execution of policies are important to encourage more women to come up and make a difference in the level-playing fields.

Reddy seemed quite optimistic. She said that we need more women representatives because only they can deal with women-oriented issues. "More women will lead to more work done properly. Women work together, and always put their heart and soul when they get into anything," she stressed.

However, Mittal feels the narrative is skewed. Although women need a political representation, not many of them are willing to be play the 'dirty game'. "Many policies for women haven't been addressed. The surrogacy law in 2015 was unforgiving. Raising the level of discourse needs a bump-up. Inclusion of women has been mostly token. Most panels have men making decisions," she said during the panel discussion.