Karnataka - Bangalore

Who mans women corporators' wards?

Afshan Yasmeen

Many depend on their husbands "to survive among male politicians"

BANGALORE: Is your area represented by a woman corporator? If so, have you seen her visiting the ward anytime in the past five years? Chances are that you may have seen her husband.

That is because most of the wards represented by the 34 women members in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) Council are "managed" by their husbands. Most of these women members admit that they depend on their husbands "only to survive among male politicians."

In the past five years, these "helpful husbands" have assisted their wives not in just managing their wards and screening telephone calls. The more enterprising even conducted press conferences on behalf of their wives.

In 2004, when Nazreen Naaz Mujeeb (Bharatinagar) who was heading the Standing Committee on Education, convened a press conference in her office, her husband Abdul Mujeeb did all the talking. Ms. Naaz was not even present on the occasion. She walked in only after the presspersons protested.

In the wake of the Jogupalya corporator attempting suicide on Monday because the MLA of her constituency was allegedly interfering with her official functioning, several women members have alleged that they had had to face similar problems.

"Probably, that is why most of us depend on our husbands to manage our work. The problem would have been worse if my husband did not back me at every step," Chamarajpet corporator Kokila Chandrashekar said.

Prakashnagar corporator G. Padmavathy, one of the few who execute her duty without the help of her husband, said it was very difficult for a woman to be in politics.

"Although I have faced several problems all through my three terms as a corporator, I have dealt with them boldly all alone. When people of my ward have elected me as their representative, why should my husband work for me? Women are capable of working better than men," she said.

Similar was the opinion of M. Vasanthkumari (Gandhinagar) and N. Shantakumari (Moodalpalya).

All of them admitted that there had been a bias against women in the BMP Council when it came to clearance of projects and allocation of funds for wards represented by them.

A senior corporator, on condition of anonymity, said that there had always been trouble from the area MLAs, especially if they were "corporator-turned-MLAs."

Mayor's stance

But Mayor Mumtaz Begum refuses to accept that it is a male-dominated society. "In the past 11 months as Mayor, I have managed the entire council without any interference from male members. I have even punished one of them for obstructing the smooth conduct of the council," she told The Hindu on Tuesday.

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