#Beijing25 || Viewpoint: George, Gender-based Violence and Social Inequality

By Angelin Anna George

Earth contains millions of animal species and they are all present in two types, a male and a female. This distinction is based on the biological differences and the category of distinction is the sex of the animal. So what is gender then? Gender is a social construct which was created to define man and woman. Women all over the world have experienced oppression because according to this social construct women were supposed to be meek and submissive; thus making them easy targets for oppression.

The asymmetrical relation between the two genders has always been cited as a reason for the inequality experienced. According to this asymmetric relationship, women are considered as the secondary or other sex that is weak and incapable of being productive; while men are considered as the superior and productive sex. Years of suppression of the female sex has had drastic effects on the society as a whole. Sometimes, women limit themselves because of the ideals that have been driven into their minds over the years. In other cases, men limit women to a life inside the house because their faulty education taught them to blindly follow the patriarchal norms. Basically, the social construct of gender has embedded itself deep in the minds of most people. This leads to problems such as social inequality amongst men and women. Individuals who still view women as the weaker sex believe that they cannot handle professional jobs and discriminate against any female who is striving to make a different life for her.

People all around the world are always striving to matter and to assert their dominance at some point in life. Often, the safest place that men can assert their dominance without having their masculinity questioned with resistance is at home with their wife. This is the cause for most cases of gender based violence. Most women do not stand up for themselves because of the norms and values that they are taught as a child. The problem lies in the fact that these values and norms were taught by a patriarchal society that did not value women. Therefore, these women believe that they are only suited for such a life wherein they have to blindly serve their husband.  Domestic violence as a form of abuse can be physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious and sexual abuse. It ranges from subtly demeaning woman to brutal assaults such as marital rape. Gender based violence can also been seen in the way women are treated by unknown men in the society, for example, most women have experienced the gaze and lewd comments of strange men.  

In conclusion, the female sex has had to deal with years of oppression and in fact, they are still dealing with inequalities in all phases of their life. Yet, this oppression is currently not as bad as our ancestors have had to face. Since most women have gained resilience and strength from the hurdles they have had to overcome in life, they are able to slowly end change this misogynistic attitude of the society. Even though it is a very slow process, it has resulted in a lot of good. Most firms and government sectors have hard and fast rules about the minimum number of women employees, and violence against women have been deemed as a criminal offence. Therefore, women as a whole have started to fight against this oppression and stand up together for their right to live their life.

#Beijing25 || Viewpoint: Sofia, COVID-19 IMPACT ON GENDER EQUALITY

By Sofia G

Corona is a pandemic disease which is being affected all over the world. Every corner of the world is suffering from corona. It is a communicable disease which can be spread through touching, breathing or sneezing. Currently many people are being affected by this,some people tend to die due to this disease. Today’s update is many people are getting cured through proper sanitisation and through proper health facilities. This pandemic has led to many issues, of which one of the issues can be discussed as the impact on Gender equality. People try to differentiate the genders while giving treatment.

Lockdowns are being announced to prevent the spread of corona whereas many womens are being trapped at home with abusers. Many men try to abuse their own family members like their own children. Even though there are many advantages in this lockdown like spending time with their family, playing indoor games, children tend to share their own feelings to their parents and so on. Many families are being united in this process of lockdown.

In this Pandemic Scientists are trying to find the vaccine and it is very important that the medical research should not be Gender blind. Clinical traits must include Gender-balanced representation of women to examine how the vaccine might affect women and men differently. Even though women are given opportunities and are being recognised as Engineers, collectors and Doctors, they are not identified or well represented among Senior Doctors, Engineers or Collectors. Only a few are recognised under compulsion.

Gender stereotypes and socioeconomic inequalities continue to impact on use of preventative and curative health services.The Gender differentiation can be stopped through various methods. There are some sections under which abused women can report it and the abuser is being punished for it.
Helplines are also available to save women for example: 1091,WAVE(Women against violence europe).

The increase of the representation of women in health governance,Decision-making and certain occupations could help to ensure that women are also having the opportunities to shape their importance.

To conclude my point Gender equality can be stopped and make women feel comfortable. Still there are some ways to sort out the uncomfortableness or safety of women all over the world. Therefore, this small changes are being expected to push social norms towards greater gender equality in providing some facilities where the women are safe all over the world.

#Beijing25 || Viewpoint: Silvia, Gender-based Violence and Social Inequality

By Catharinal Silvia.M

As everyday news clearly portrays, we live in the 21st century where everybody is considered to be equal and free. These monotonous lines are deeply rooted in our brains that we don’t stop and think what the true reality is . We often come across violences against women and children and we are manipulated to believe that gender based violence can only be against women which is not true. Gender based violence is considered to be violences against any particular gender which need not only have to be associated with feminine characteristics .It should be clear that gender based violence can be against both men women or any other gender. But the amusing fact is that more than 80% of gender based violence is are against women which proves why gender based violences are associated with women and children.

Since time began, we are told and we have experienced in histories how women had to go through gruesome inequalities which ruined their lives. Even though these inequalities against women are not that ghastly as it was before in the earlier times we still find these ideas etched in peoples minds.

Lots of works have been established which talks of how women go through teriffic horrors in their lives and mostly these things seem monotonous when we go through them because it has become a fashion to talk about gender based violence but not take any action against it. Gender based violence and social inequality are intertwined with each other because these violences happen on the base root of social structures and backgrounds. Beginning with our own households and our own practices, these ideas are fed into children’s minds since they were born and that’s where the problem begins.

If we take a typical Indian household, we always see that a male child is given more important and is treated superior to any girl child . 

We could take examples from western and eastern countries, which we considered elite and good. The production of Barbie dolls and the market it created cannot be forgotten. These Barbie dolls came to our households as just dolls but it did not only create entertainment but also a illogical standard which cannot be erased even today. The clear cut shape that the Barbie doll portrayed has become the standard shape that any woman has to have in order to be looked up on. This has so much to do with social inequality as women who  don’t fit into these stereotypical standards were ill treated, mocked and body shamed.

Another revolutionary fact is the creation of man and woman. People always say that woman was created out of man and so she has to be not equal but a below him. These ideas are so much put in our minds that wherever we go in any part of the world there is always conflict faced by a woman.

For example in workplaces, schools ,colleges ,anywhere in any part of the world a woman has always have to face some kind of challenge be it  inequality, crimes , safety, bodyshaming, criticisms and more.

Human minds are so much manipulated that women cannot do the work that a man does, as it is very rare to find women in the fields where physical strength is required. And if by any chance a woman appears in the field of maybe the army or the Navy or somewhere where physical strength is required she is looked as if she’s an alien.

When it comes to education there is a lot to look upon. Even now in remote places of India  women and girl children are deprived of proper education.Education allows us to think for ourselves, when we don’t think for ourselves we will definitely have to go by the rules of another person.

We could not only say that only women undergo these kinds of inequalities in social backgrounds also transgenders go through brutal crimes almost everywhere. These gender based violences have to be strictly looked upon because we’re lied to that everything has changed.

Prajnya Gender Talks, September 2020 || Gender Equitable Boys: Engaging Boys and Men by Christina Furtado

September 2020

Rapporteur: Suhasini Udayakumar

Background

Equal Community Foundation’s singular mission is to help raise every boy in India to be gender-equitable. The Foundation’s flagship program, Action for Equality (Pune), is a gender-transformative programme for boys that has not just made boys agents of feminist change but also provided 50 other organisations with the capacity to follow in ECF’s footsteps. 

Action for Equality has been active for 10 years across 20 low-income areas in Pune, where it engages 13-17-year-old boys over a year through a structured curriculum that draws on the work of gender and education giants. The material is contextualised to suit the local community, following which monitoring and evaluation tools capture its impact on the boys and the society.

Action for Equality – Ground Rules

The programme has a few firm cornerstones and principles. It believes that men and boys are not born violent and discriminatory but may be socialised into being so. It also believes that not all men may be a part of the problem but all men can be part of the solution. It trusts that men are capable of change – and want to change. It positions men as allies and not heroes or champions. It uses a participatory and not a saviour approach where participants bring their own opinions, beliefs and experiences to the table thus creating opportunities for reflection. It  keeps everyone’s needs in mind instead of pushing its own agenda, and constantly asks itself, “How do these boys want to be better people and how can we aid that?”

The programme also makes sure to provide a judgment-free safe space where the boys can unpack any thoughts and experiences. It builds and uses materials geared toward gender transformation in order to help participants identify, challenge and change gender norms. In this way, it complements other (more prolific) gender work done with women and girls. Its “theory of change” is that if boys are equipped with human and gender rights knowledge, critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills, then they can reflect on and change their own attitudes and behaviours and perhaps even influence change within their family, peer groups and communities. 

But how do you change boys?

A major question that arose amongst the audience was ”How does the programme get boys to sign up?” 

Programme associates look diligently for participants by visiting shops, community spaces, Anganwadis etc and then make trips to the boys’ homes to get consent. This part is tricky since they have to explain the full programme to the parents and get them on board. More often than not, there is backlash; parents argue that such “extracurriculars” are not as important as their boys’ education. Fathers often show reluctance when they discover their sons will learn to share in household responsibilities. But steady and consistent home visits and discussions eventually help overcome this stigma. The boys themselves influence their fathers to change. So while many fathers are unsupportive in the beginning, they begin to take more initiative later on. 

Another question that arises is “How does the programme communicate with boys about gender?” 

Action for Equality takes complex concepts and simplifies them into easily digestible parts. In the talk, Christina gives two examples of this “known-to-unknown” teaching methodology. 

In the first, boys learn the concept of human rights through a simple activity where they write down and draw basic rights they think everyone deserves to have. They are asked about which ones they are allowed to practice and which ones they are denied. By digging deeper and deeper, they eventually get to those whose rights are violated more. They also understand determinants such as lack of money or education, discrimination on the basis of caste, class, religion, and gender, and finally connect these concepts to their sisters’, mothers’ and peers’ experiences – where girls they know are pulled out of school or where they see their mothers are victims of violence. 

In the second example, Christina illustrates a simple drawing activity through which the boys are taught to distinguish between sex and gender. They learn that there is nothing in their biology that prevents them from cooking and likewise, girls don’t have anything in their biology that should keep them from education. 

Outcomes

The outcomes of these activities are measured both qualitatively and quantitatively. Within the first few weeks, the boys start sharing household responsibilities. Later on, some boys take it a notch further and become agents of change in their community; some participants exceeded expectations when they challenged menstrual taboos, challenged child marriages, and conducted street plays to raise awareness. 

Action for Equality also conducts a Gender Attitude Survey (based on the Gender Equality Male Scale (GEMS)) with questions on three scenarios; Scenario 1: “Violence and Intolerance,” Scenario 2: “Manhood and Masculinity,” and Scenario 3: “Gender Roles and Responsibilities” to monitor outcomes. The responses are coded and categorised as “inequitable,” “less equitable,” “moderately equitable,” and – the very rare due to the programme’s high standards – “equitable.” Usually, it is noticed that the boys are able to identify gender issues but unaware of how to challenge them. Their attitudes shift easily with regard to Scenario 3 but Scenarios 1 and 2 take longer to be transformed. 

Conclusion

Christina Furtado’s talk on the Equal Community Foundation’s work was eye-opening. Most work that happens for gender equitability happens with women and girls – Action for Equality is changing that narrative by doing work that is visibly changing the next generation of men, and breaking new ground on gender equitability.

#GenderEqualityElectionWatch – Himachal Pradesh Elections 2017 – Where are the women candidates?

This 3-part article is written for prajnya.in as part of the Gender Election Watch Project on Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat elections

Earlier this week, I and Dr. Swarna Rajagopalan from Prajnya began to investigate gender statistics on the forthcoming Himachal elections that are due to take place on the 9 November 2017. Subdivided into 12 districts and 68 Assembly Constituencies (ACs), the state will witness a single phase election. Electoral battles are often a face-off between two key national parties – the Indian National Congress (currently led by the incumbent state Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (led by Prem Kumar Dhumal). With little space for a third alternative, voting remains largely restricted between these two parties; both parties assembled a total vote share of 81 percent in the State Assembly elections in 2012 which the Congress won.

File photo from India News. http://bit.ly/2iNxZyM

An unforgiving observation, however, is the disproportionate gender imbalance in the electoral mechanics. So far, our research has identified merely 15 women candidates from three major parties contesting in the polls – 4 from the Congress, 8 from the BJP and 3 from BSP vis-a-vis a total number of 400-odd male candidates. Although the list expands to 20 when we include independent women candidates, yet the ratio of men to women contestants have remained disproportionate .

No	Name of the Party	Number of Candidates contesting
1	Bahujan Samaj Party	32
2	Bharatiya Janata Party	68
3	Indian National Congress	68
4	CPI/CPI (M)	30
5	All India Trinamool Congress	Data not available
6	Nationalist Congress Party	Data not available
	Total Number	198*
	Total Number of Women candidates	20*

*Based on nomination data from the Chief Electoral Officer, Himachal Pradesh

In the Himachal state elections since the turn of the century, the number of contesting women candidates contesting have remained roughly around 8 percent. In other words, for every 100 people contesting in an election, there are merely 8 women candidates. Elected women candidates average roughly around 6 percent of the total 68 elected representatives in the Himachal State Legislative Assembly. Interestingly, the figure was the lowest in 2012, when only 3 women candidates were elected alongside 65 male representatives.

https://infogram.com/gender-election-watch-himachal-state-assembly-elections-2017-1gqo2qn3kvgw278

This statistic is further intriguing considering how female voting numbers have been traditionally higher over the last three assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh. In 2003, 2007 and in 2012, the percentage of female voters was nearly 75 percent vis-à-vis male voters who were nearly 70-71 percent. Why are parties not fielding more women candidates? The state is yet to see a women Chief Minister.

Where are the women contesting from:

No	Party	Name of Women Candidates	Place they are contesting from
1	INC	Asha Kumari	Dalhousie
2	INC	Viplov Thakur	Dehra
3	INC	Champa Thakur	Mandi-Sadar
4	INC	Anjna Devi	Una
5	BJP	Reeta Devi	Indora (SC)
6	BJP	Sarveen	Shahpur
7	BJP	Indu Bala	Palampur
8	BJP	Kamlesh Kumari	Bhoranj (SC)
9	BJP	Vijay Jyoti Sain	Kasumpti
10	BJP	Shashi Bala	Rohru (SC)
11	BJP	Neelam Nayyar	Chamba
12	BJP	Vinod Kumari Chandel	Doon
13	BSP	Pinki Devi	Nagrota
14	BSP	Saroti Devi	Barsar
15	BSP	Manjana Devi	Jawali
16	Indpndt	Nirmala Chauhan	Karsog
17	Rashtriya Azad Manch	Renuka Dogra	Kullu
18	Indpndt	Roshani Sharma	Mandi
19	Lok Gathbandan Party	Paro Devi	Sarkaghat
20	Indpndt	Kumari Vandna	Sullah

Does the system discourage women from participating? What seem to be the barriers to entry? We find that reservation for women candidates can encourage more women to contest and win in elections. The results of the Panchayat and Zila Parishad elections – where reservations apply – illustrate this clearly, as a 2015 State report highlighted:

“In Himachal Pradesh there are 3243 Gram Panchayats, out of which 1639(50.54 per cent) seats have been occupied by women in the 2011 Panchayat elections. Out of total seats occupied by women, 987 (60.21 per cent) occupied by general women, 421,(25.68 per cent) scheduled caste women, 104 (6.34 per cent) scheduled tribes women and 127 (7.74 per cent) occupied by OBC women. Similarly, out to total 77 Chairman Panchayat Simities seats, 42 seats (54, 55 percent) of the seats in this category have been occupied by women. Among total seats occupied by women in Chairman Panchayat Simities category, 20 (48 per cent) occupied by general women, 13(31 per cent) by scheduled caste women, 4 (9 per cent) by scheduled tribes women and 5 (12 per cent) occupied by OBC women. Out of the total 12 seats chairpersons of Zila Parisad seats, 6 (50 per cent) of the seats have been occupied by women in 2011 elections.”

End of Part 1. Part 2 will track media coverage of these women candidates, and Part 3 is a post election piece.

Stats calculated based on public available data on candidates, and from previous Election Commission Reports.  

Your gender equality election assessment: Resources

For those who will vote in Tamil Nadu, and would like to arrive at their own Gender Equality Election assessment (as you should!), we are compiling the resources we have found. We will keep updating this as we go.

Nomination information:

TN State Election Commission, Nominations and Affidavits

Lists of candidates from all parties

Manifestos: 

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Pattali Makkal Katchi

Namma Thamizhar Katchi

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam  (no content yet)

 

Do send us links to other manifestos (full-text, not reports or summaries): media.prajnya@gmail.com

 

Gender Equality Report Card: Tamil Nadu Election 2016

PRAJNYA PRESS BRIEFING, MAY 4, 2016

How do Tamil Nadu parties fare
according to the
Prajnya Gender Equality Election Checklist?

The Prajnya Gender Equality Election Checklist released two weeks ago offers voters five criteria to determine a candidate or party’s commitment to gender equality:

1. Zero-tolerance for violence in speech or action.
2. Commitment to gender parity (or something close to it) in nominations.
3. Evidence of equal party support to male and other candidates.
4. Strong and clear positions in favour of gender equality.
5. Genuine concern about gender-related issues in speeches and interviews.

Now that nominations have been filed, many manifestos published and campaigns are underway, how do Tamil Nadu parties fare? In the absence of party-generated data that is up-to-date, comprehensive and gender-disaggregated, the following commentary is based on media accounts.

1. On the question of gender-based violence, parties are inclined to focus on protection of women and other gender minorities rather than creating the conditions for eliminating the threat of violence. Some striking expressions of patriarchal thinking:
• The DMK will introduce (yet another) mobile app.
• The PWF will ensure that law enforcement prioritises women’s safety, but they would also like to keep women protected, such as prohibiting overtime work for them.

2. Where nomination of women goes, virtually no party approaches parity. This shows that political institutions are blind to women’s work and leadership.

Party	Women Candidates	Total Candidates	Percentage
AIADMK	31	227	13.7
BJP	15	168	7.1
Congress	3	41	7.3
CPI	1	25	4
CPM	3	25	12
DMDK	1?	104	NA
DMK	19	173	11
MDMK	4	29	13.8
NTK	5	75	6.7
PMK	15	234	6.4
TMC	1	26	3.8
VCK	2	25	8
Total	323 (+ 2 Third Gender)	3785	8.5

3. It is hard to know whether parties are supporting male and female candidates equally, but three questions that enable us to read between the lines of their behaviour are as follows:

• To which seats have women candidates been nominated? Are these prominent seats or either marginal seats or seats where the incumbent is a prominent woman?
• When those vehicles with megaphones come by, which names do you hear more often? Without party support, it would be hard to pay for autos, banners and handouts.
• Which parties’ candidates are campaigning door-to-door? Without party support, there would not be volunteers to walk the streets.

4. Looking at the manifestos released, we do not see strong evidence of a concern about gender issues. By and large, three concerns define the gender perspective of the political parties: safety, motherhood and livelihoods. As important as they are, they reveal the patriarchal thinking at the core of even the parties that make claims to being progressive. How do the parties line up on other key issues?

Political and government reservations:

• PMK backs 50% reservation for women in local bodies and 33% in the police.
• DMK will push for the Women’s Reservation Bill at the Centre.

Workplace safety:

• DMK will push for workplace sexual harassment committees in places like spinning mills.
• PWF will enforce universal compliance with the provisions of the law against workplace sexual harassment, BUT, they also plan to penalise those who employ women overtime.

Institutions:

• The PWF foresees a role for an invigorated and accountable Women’s Commission.

Self-Help Groups remain the instrument of choice for grassroots change, and the DMK proposes to introduce SHGs for transgender persons.

5. Gender has hardly featured in any of the speeches we have heard so far.

The media has raised questions about gender in the manifestos and about the nomination of non-male candidates, but this commentary has remained marginal. Most disconcerting, but unsurprising, was the recent survey by the NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, that showed that gender equality is not a priority concern for either urban or rural voters in Tamil Nadu. The challenge then is to make it an issue, and it is a challenge we hope civil society and media will take up by posing relevant questions repeatedly.

Tamil Nadu’s parties attempt to address transgender rights although their performance is strictly hit or miss. Where the PMK, for instance, proposes to set up hostels for transgender women which may be useful, the DMDK wants to set up separate schools and colleges.

It is clear that manifestos are written in isolation and without an attempt to understand what communities actually want. It is in society’s interest to break that isolation and initiate dialogue with parties, and smart parties will seek that dialogue so that they can genuinely claim to represent the people. In this election, it must be acknowledged that some sections of the media have attempted to evaluate gender sensitivity among political parties and candidates, but the poor Prajnya Gender Equality Election Checklist showing of parties across the board shows there is much work to be done. A good starting point would be gender-disaggregated data and the demand for such data may well be where we begin our campaigns for gender equality in the election process.

media.prajnya@gmail.com

Prajnya Gender Equality Election Checklist

Democracy without gender equality is incomplete and imperfect.

Political parties, election officials and voters must all demonstrate
a commitment to inclusivity and a concern for gender-related issues
from survival to violence to access to participation.

GENDER EQUALITY ELECTION GUIDE
FOR POLITICAL PARTIES

Make Gender Parity a Guiding Principle for Selection

1. Encourage members to nominate women.
2. Short-list an equal number of men and women for each seat before making a decision.
3. Actively seek to nominate a roughly equal number of men and women for the 2016 elections.

DO NOT, we repeat,

1. Do NOT nominate those facing charges relating to sexual and gender-based violence
   unless and until a court absolves them.
2. Do NOT nominate those guilty of sexist and misogynistic speech.

Make Place for Gender Equality in the Party Manifesto

1. Expressly commit to gender equality.
2. Clarify party positions on issues relating to gender equality—violence, access to justice, access to opportunity and services and property rights, for instance.
3. Expressly commit to gender parity in key party and government positions.

VOTE FOR GENDER EQUALITY

Vote for a party that shows

1. Zero-tolerance for violence in speech or action.
2. Commitment to gender parity (or something close to it) in nominations.
3. Evidence of equal party support to male and other candidates.
4. Strong and clear positions in favour of gender equality.
5. Genuine concern about gender-related issues in speeches and interviews.

THIS ELECTION,
MAKE TRUE DEMOCRACY NON-NEGOTIABLE.
VOTE FOR GENDER EQUALITY.

http://www.prajnya.in
prajnyatrust@gmail.com

பிரக்ஞா பாலின சமத்துவம் குறித்த தேர்தல் பட்டியல்

சமுதாயத்தில் எல்லா நிலையிலும் ஆண் பெண் அனைவரும் சரிசமமாக இருந்தாலேயன்றி மக்களாட்சி என்பது முழுமை பெறாது. அரசியல் கட்சிகள், தேர்தல் அதிகாரிகள், வாக்காளர்கள் என அனைவரும் வன்கொடுமை, பிரதிநித்துவம்,  உரிமை முதலிய பாகுபாட்டு பிரச்சனைகளைக் கருத்தில் கொண்டு ஆண் பெண் இருவரையும் சமமாக உள்ளடக்கிய கொள்கைக்கு முக்கிய இடம் அளிக்கவேண்டும்.

அரசியல் கட்சிகளுக்கான பாலின சமத்துவத்  தேர்தல் வழிமுறைகள் 

வேட்பாளர் தேர்வின்போது பாலின சமத்துவத்தை ஆதாரமாக கொள்ளவேண்டும்.

• பெண் வேட்பாளர்களைபரிந்துரை செய்யஅனைத்து கட்சி உறுப்பினர்களையும்  ஊக்குவிக்கவேண்டும்.
• ஒவ்வொரு தொகுதியிலும்வேட்பாளரை முடிவுசெய்யும் முன் பரிந்துரைப் பட்டியலில் ஆண் பெண் எண்ணிக்கை சமமாக இருக்கும்படி பட்டியலிட வேண்டும்.
• 2016, இவ்வருட தேர்தலில், கட்சி வேட்பாளர் பட்டியலில்ஆண் பெண் வேட்பாளர்களை ஏறத்தாழசமமான எண்ணிக்கையில் அறிவிக்க முன்வர வேண்டும்.

வேண்டாம், ஒருபோதும் பரிந்துரைக்க வேண்டாம்!

• பாலியல் கொடுமைக்காக குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டோரை நீதிமன்றம் விடுவிக்கும்வரை வேட்பாளராகஒருபோதும்பரிந்துரைக்க வேண்டாம்.
• பெண்களை இழிவாகபேசுவோரைவேட்பாளராக ஒருபோதும் பரிந்துரைக்க வேண்டாம்.

கட்சியின் தேர்தல் அறிக்கையில் பாலின சமத்துவத்திற்கு முக்கிய இடம் அளிக்க வேண்டும்.

• தேர்தல் அறிக்கையில் பாலினசமத்துவத்திற்கு வெளிப்படையான ஆதரவு அளிக்க வேண்டும்.
• பாலியல் வன்முறைமற்றும் சொத்துரிமை, ஊதிய வேறுபாடு, சமமான வாய்ப்புமுதலிய பெண்களுக்கு எதிரான பாலியல் பாகுபாட்டுப் பிரச்சனைகளில், கட்சியின் நிலைப்பாட்டினைத் தெளிவாக விளக்க வேண்டும்.
• கட்சி மற்றும் அரசின் முக்கிய பதவி மற்றும் பொறுப்புகளில் பெண்களுக்குசமமான இடம் அளிக்க வேண்டும்.

பாலின சமத்துவத்திற்கு ஆதரவாக  வாக்களியுங்கள்

எத்தகைய கட்சிக்கு வாக்களிக்க வேண்டும்…?

• பாலின வன்முறையைத் தூண்டும் பேச்சுக்கும் செயலுக்கும் இடமளிக்காத கட்சிக்கு வாக்களியுங்கள்.
• வேட்பாளர் தேர்வில் பாலின சமத்துவத்தை (முடிந்தவரையில்) கடைப்பிடிக்கும் கட்சிக்குவாக்களியுங்கள்.
• பெண் வேட்பாளர்களுக்கு சமமான முக்கியத்துவம் அளிக்கும் கட்சிக்குவாக்களியுங்கள்.
• பாலின சமத்துவ கொள்கையில் தெளிவான நிலைப்பாட்டினைக் கொண்டுள்ள கட்சிக்குவாக்களியுங்கள்.
• பாலியல் பாகுபாட்டுப் பிரச்சனைகளில் உண்மையான அக்கறை கொண்டுள்ள கட்சிக்குவாக்களியுங்கள்.

இத்தேர்தலின் மூலம் ஒரு முழுமையான, உண்மையான மக்களாட்சியை  உருவாக்குவோம். 

பாலின சமத்துவத்திற்கு வாக்களிப்போம். 

 

செய்தி வெளியீடு: பாலின சமத்துவம் தேர்தல் சரிபார்ப்பு பட்டியல்

செய்தி வெளியீடு

பாலின சமத்துவத்திற்காக வாக்களியுங்கள் – கட்சிகள் மற்றும் வாக்காளர்களுக்கான தேர்தல் சரிபார்ப்பு பட்டியல் வெளியீடு :

சென்னை:

அடுத்த இரண்டு வாரங்களில், மே 16, 2016 அன்று நடைபெறவுள்ள மாநில சட்டமன்ற தேர்தலில் போட்டியிடவிருக்கும் ஒவ்வொரு அரசியல் கட்சியின் வேட்பாளர்கள் யார் என்று தமிழ்நாட்டு மக்கள் அறிவார்கள்.

வெளியேறிய சட்டமன்றத்தில், பெண் உறுப்பினர்களின் பங்கு அதிகபட்சம் வெறும் ஏழு (7%) சதவிகிதமாக இருந்திருக்கிறது. வரவிருக்கும் தேர்தலில், அனைத்திந்திய அண்ணா திராவிட முன்னேற்றக் கழகம் வெளியிட்ட முதல் வேட்பாளர் பட்டியலில் 227 வேட்பாளர்கள் உள்ளனர். இவர்களில் 31 மட்டுமே பெண்கள் – பதினான்கு சதவிகிதம் (14%) மட்டுமே. வெளிவரவிருக்கும் மற்ற கட்சிகளின் பட்டியல்கள் பாலினச் சமநிலையில் இதைவிட சிறப்பாக இருக்கும் என்பதை நம்புவதற்கு எந்தக் காரணமும் இல்லை.

பாலின சமத்துவம் என்பது ஒரு சமூக நிலை, ஒரு அரசியல் நிலை. இந்த சமத்துவம் இல்லாத ஜனநாயகம் முழுமையற்ற, நிறைவற்ற ஒன்றாகும். ஆனால் பாலினம் சம்பந்தமான பிரச்சினைகள் இந்திய தேர்தலின் சொல்லாட்சியில் அரிதாகவே இடம்பெறுகின்றன. அப்படி இடம்பெரும்போழுது, நம் பேச்சும் விவாதங்களும் பாதுகாப்பு குறித்த அம்சங்களை பற்றி மட்டும் இருக்கின்றன. இந்தியாவின் பழமைவாய்ந்த முற்போக்கான மற்றும் பகுத்தறிவு இயக்கங்களில் ஒன்றாக தமிழ்நாடு மாநில அரசியல் திகழ்கின்றது. தர்க்கரீதியாக, ஆண்-பெண் சமத்துவம் இந்த மரபின் ஒரு முக்கிய பகுதியாக இருக்க வேண்டும்.

தேர்தல் வேட்பாளர்களை தேர்ந்தெடுப்பதில் பாலின சமத்துவத்துவத்தை ஒரு வழிகாட்டும் கொள்கையாக ஏற்க வேண்டும் என்று பிரக்ஞா தமிழ்நாட்டிலுள்ள அரசியல் கட்சிகளிடம் வலியுறுத்துகின்றது. இதை நோக்கி, ‘பிரக்ஞா பாலின சமத்துவம் தேர்தல் சரிபார்ப்பு பட்டியல்’, என்ற பட்டியலை அரசியல் கட்சிகளுக்காகவும் வாக்காளர்களுக்காகவும் வெளியிடுகிறோம். இந்த சரிபார்ப்பு பட்டியல், கட்சிகள் தங்கள் வேட்பாளர்களை தேர்ந்தெடுக்கும்பொழுது எளிதாக பயன்படுத்தகூடிய ஒரு வழிகாட்டியாகவும், வாக்காளர்கள் தங்கள் பிரதிநிதியை தேர்ந்தெடுக்க செயல்படும் ஒரு வழிகாட்டியாகவும் இருக்கும் என்று நம்புகிறோம்.

மீண்டும் வலியுறுத்துகின்றோம்: பாலின சமத்துவம் இல்லாத ஜனநாயகம் வெறும் பொருளற்ற நிழல் ஆகும். இந்த தேர்தலில், உண்மையான ஜனநாயகத்தை வலியுறுத்துங்கள். பாலின சமத்துவத்திற்காக வாக்களியுங்கள்.

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