DNA Edit: Congress plays politics with key women-centric bills

The war of words over two key pieces of legislation – Triple Talaq and Women’s Reservation bills – is a thinly veiled attempt by the male-dominated political establishment to derail the process of gender equality. Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s manipulation of gender issues – pitching one bill against the other, when both deserve a safe passage through Parliament – dilutes the public discourse on creating a level-playing field for women. Thanks to the patriarchal nature of Indian politics, Triple Talaq is imbued with communal overtones while the effort to increase the number of women in the country’s legislative processes is reduced to cheap whataboutery. 

Basically, the Congress wants to keep its male Muslim vote-bank intact, even if it entails the suffering of Muslim women. But apprehensive of being viewed as anti-women, it seeks refuge in another bill to champion the “cause” of equality. Despite being in power for the longest time, the grand old party has always viewed gender issues through the prism of convenience. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s regressive stance on the Shah Bano case – resulting in Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce Act), 1986, to appease hardline conservative elements of the community – had already showcased the Congress’s moral ambiguity. 

Now Rahul is carrying forward that legacy of placation and opportunism. It’s worth revisiting the long history of the Women’s Reservation Bill and the many roadblocks it encountered on the way even after being passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010. The bill demands 33 per cent representation of women in the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies. The Lok Sabha never voted on it because curiously, some of the parties, which had put up a strong opposition to the bill are Congress’s current allies – the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, and the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party in UP. The JD(U), which, too, was hostile to the bill is a former ally. No wonder the BJP pounced on the opportunity to unmask Rahul. 

Senior BJP leader and Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar tore into Congress’s hypocrisy, saying, “It is Congress which is in alliance with those who had opposed the Women’s Reservation bill. So, will now Congress come out of the alliance or will it get the letters of support from those parties?” Two parties antagonistic to the bill are headed by women – Mayawati of BSP and Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress, both sharing a love-hate relationship with Sonia Gandhi. It’s indeed unfortunate that the Congress, which once had Indira Gandhi as the PM and Sonia as the party’s top boss is indulging in theatrics to stave off political oblivion. One is apprehensive that the Congress’s stonewalling tactics will jeopardise the fate of both bills. With elections around the corner, the Monsoon session offers a glorious opportunity for parties to transcend their petty differences and script history. The Triple Talaq bill is an imperative where bipartisan support can create a world of difference in the lives of crores of women pushed to the margins because of an ancient religious law. How can the opposition parties not realise its significance?