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Written by: Tara Krishnaswamy

Created: 08 March 2019

JAMMU: When was the last time citizens of India from all corners of the country came together in one voice seeking more political power to women? That too on a Women's Day, sans fashion shows and pink themes. When was the last time people gathered in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Chittoor, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, New Delhi & Thiruvananthapuram SIMULTANEOUSLY demanding a fair share of political power to women?

When was it ever that Dalit women, women in IT, women farmers, gender activists, domestic workers, lawyers and students campaigned for women's political representation on the ground across India, in villages, towns, districts & cities?

The answer is never. 

All that changed yesterday, the eve of the 2019 International Women's Day.

In a historical event yesterday, Shakti, the public pressure group  seeking Political Power to Women upped the ante on International Women’s Day 2019 by holding public gatherings all across the country.

From Freedom Park, Bengaluru, where a hundred women, students, activists, domestic workers, NGOs and others had gathered, Shakti co-founder Tara Krishnaswamy said, "Political parties are getting away with fielding a mere 8% women candidates, while 92% of the election tickets go to men. What is democratic about half the talent not even getting a chance to contest elections? This despite Election Commission data proving that women are more winnable than men in each and every Lok Sabha election! While Shakti has been petitioning and pressuring political parties directly to give more tickets to women this Lok Sabha season, as the gatekeeper of fair elections, the EC must not take it easy, it is their responsibility to ensure fair and democratic elections, which it is clearly not unless there are proportionate number of women in the fray.

We ask that the Election Commission intervene on behalf of 50% of this country, urge and pressure parties for fair ticket distribution. The electoral playing field is highly skewed and women need the EC as an ally in rebalancing it. The entry of women in the fray will automatically also mitigate other practices like the overabundance of black money & muscle politics."

From domestic workers, farmers, activists, IT workers, NGOs, students, hundreds of women who participated across the country openly admitted that they stay away from political entry, despite aspirations. 

Shalom Gauri, student of Journalism St Joseph's College, Bengaluru said, "The testosterone driven politics in elections is daunting to even watch from afar. Dominated by men, men and more men, it feels unwelcoming for women to enter."

Partner groups of Shakti in Bengaluru, Brinda Adige of Global Concerns India, and Geeta Menon of Stree Shakti Andolan, both emphasised the need to feminize politics and elections.

Women took the knee across locations to metaphorically show that the Parliament with only men is imbalanced in its functioning. Slogans like "EC neither free nor fair! Tickets to women are so rare!," and "From man to man is a Man-liament. What we want is a Parliament" were heard chanted in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odiya, Marathi, Gujarati & Hindi. 

From Jantar Mantar, Delhi, Seema Bhatia Panthaki said, "Citizen engagement reveals the level of frustration amongst women with political parties at the lack of opportunity. There is a strong emotion that this must change and the Election Commission, as the key driver of elections, must bear pressure upon the political parties to be more democratic. We are seeking an appointment to submit the formal Shakti petition to the Chief Election Commissioner.

Jothilakshmi, an advocate and Shakti campaign coordinator in Chennai, said that, "Enough is enough!  Shakti has directly petitioned to party presidents here in Chennai, and elsewhere in India to be more reasonable in distributing tickets. We now ask the EC to also support us." Shakti women and activists from Manidhi, Inner Wheel Club of Chennai, KK Nagar, Simple Women Federation, Justice & Hope and Governance Innovation Lab came together.

The Shakti event was led by grassroots women workers of Sadhana Foundation, Swati, Humara Bachpan, including transgender activists of Odisha gathered in Dharnashal in Bhubaneshwar, demanding a stoppage to male oriented law and policy making.

Hundreds of Dalit farmer women, sarpanches & Panchayat leaders, part of Mahila Rajsatta Andolan across 19 districts Maharashtra including Bhandara, Gondia, Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Gadchiroli, Kolhapur, Pune, Parbhani, Buldhana, Yavatmal, Washim, Latur, Satara, Solhapur, Hingoli, Vadde-Nanded, Marathvada and Kolhapur who campaigned at their local District Collector's offices, presented Shakti's petition asking for 50% tickets for women. 

At Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, Gandhi Circle saw students mobilised by the Chittoor Political  Action Committee, in Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad rights activists and students of Kasturba college, at AUDA Garden in Ahmedabad, India Election App brought together scores of women, and women and men activists championing gender balanced politics congregated in Palayam, outside the Kerala Secretariat, all chanting, "EC must make it easy. 50% tickets to women!"

Shakti is a non partisan inclusive platform of women across India who have joined hands, regardless of region, caste, creed, ideology a with the singular objective to get more women elected as MLAs and MPs.