Date:22/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/22/stories/2006042222850300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Call for political empowerment of women

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: A strong case was made out for political empowerment of women at a seminar here on Thursday.

Gayathri N. of the National Institute of Advanced Studies in her presentation at the seminar held at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan spoke about the status of women and the impediments they faced.

Ms. Gayathri said that studies had shown that women's representation in the Lok Sabha from 1952 to 2005 was just 6.6 per cent, 9 per cent in the Rajya Sabha and 7.5 per cent in the State legislature.

"This under-representation has to be corrected by increasing reservation for women in various sectors," she said.

Quota

While stressing on political empowerment, she said reservation (for women) was needed in all sectors and not just the political sphere, she said.

Discrimination

Indian women faced oppression and exploitation even today, as we live in a male-dominated society. The discrimination was more prevalent in rural areas, where women sometimes were deprived of their right to education.

The various socio-economic, political and institutional barriers were responsible for the decline in women's representation.

There was an open-discussion after Ms. Gayathri completed her presentation. One participant said education should be made compulsory for women.

A film was screened, which contained clippings of discussions during a United Nations seminar where women expressed their views on self-empowerment.