Blog: Why Mahua Moitra’s Comments On Muslim Women Representation Is Relevant
During the special Parliament session, on Wednesday 20th September, while debating on Women Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha, Mahua Moitra, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP said “Today It is both my pride and my shame, that I stand here as a woman in India”s Parliament, speaking on women reservation bill”. While giving the statistics of women representation for elections in India and in Parliament, Ms Moitra emphasised that “Within women parliamentarians, Muslims and Dalits have been consistently underrepresented. From 1952 to 2004 only 8 Muslim women have been elected to India”s parliament to Lok Sabha, many of who served multiple terms. Ms Moitra added that , In this 17th Lok Sabha, there are only two Muslim woman members, both of them are from West Bengal and also members of TMC. The TMC MP pointed out that there is uncertainty regarding the date of implementation as the “date of the next census is indeterminate, and the date of the delimitation exercise is doubly indeterminate”.
These statistics laid down by Ms Moitra on 17th session of Parliament seems very relevant as far as underrepresentation of Muslim women in public domains and decision-making roles are concerned. Muslims were declared as ‘backward community’ by the Gopal Singh Committee instituted by the government in 1983. The usage ‘backward’ implies the disadvantaged status they have, especially in relevant public domains. The data from surveys conducted on the educational and professional status of urban and rural Muslim women justifies the need for special measures for their upliftment and empowerment. Their identity in politics and contribution to workforce often goes invisible under shadow cast by popular stereotypes about them. Post independent era of our nation has never witnessed a proper acknowledgement in record, that critically looked at a Muslim woman’s identity beyond the prevalent social prejudices about them.
Muslims being the major component of OBC and the exclusion of OBC women in the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam seems to further discriminate their identity as a woman in a secular, socialist democracy like India. As Ms Mahua points out, there are only 2 Muslim woman members attending the 17 th Lok Sabha. Muslim women are victims of patriarchy, like many other religious-social groups in the country, within their community when it comes to expressing opinions and making decisions in the public sphere. The hijab controversy has brought this issue to the forefront, with many calling for the liberation of Muslim women from the patriarchal societal norms. On the other hand, these controversies like hijab ban that brought them into limelight was portrayed by many as the need for the liberation of the Muslim woman from the patriarchy driven law of the community, rather than discussing the constraints due to their identity, in the educational settings of the secular, socialist democracy like India.
The High Level Committee, constituted On March 9, 2005 by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh under the Chairmanship of Justice (Retd.) Rajinder Sachar, to prepare a report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India, had indicated that the Muslim Community (as a whole) lags behind the mainstream in social, economic and educational sectors.
As per Sachar Committee report, about 38 % of Muslims in urban areas and 27 % in rural areas live below the poverty level. The Committee had recommended exclusive schools for girls, particularly for the 9-12 standards to facilitate higher participation of Muslim girls in school education.
It had also asked the authorities to give utmost importance in allocating atleast two women each in the Central Wakf Council and each state Wakf Board, after stating that “Besides providing gender equity this will help in improving direct access to welfare measures for women and children.”
As a solution, considering the recommendations of the Sachar Committee Report and the necessity for political representation, increased participation of Muslim women in education and the legislative process is the need of the hour.
