"Naari In a Hurry"

[Guest guest]

This is a really interesting editorial that the Times of India

published recently. For those confused by the title, Naari means

Woman:

 

NAARI IN A HURRY

 

The election of three women chief ministers in India is attracting

attention worldwide. Despite a few high profile women leaders,

conventional wisdom is that women are poorly represented in South

Asian - legislatures, as they are everywhere except Scandinavian

countries (where it is between 25 and 40 per cent). In the India ,

at present, only ten per cent of MPs are women.

 

It's marginally better in the US . The 100-member US Senate now has

14 women Senators a record. The 435-member House of Representatives

has 59 Congresswomen. In fact, India is better off if you consider

chief executives of states. Five of India's 28 states will now be

ruled by women. In comparison, only seven of the 50 American states

have women governors.

 

The US thus far has had only 33 women Senators; and only 24 women

have served as governors (starting 1920 when American women earned

the right to vote and contest). Since 1947, India has not only had a

woman prime minister, but also scores of female legislators and a

dozen women chief ministers, including twice each in Uttar Pradesh

and Tamil Nadu, and in Orissa, Goa, Assam, Punjab, Bihar, Delhi, and

now in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (states that, incidentally, gave

us the Roop Kanwar and Kamla episodes).

 

Doubts about the familial ties of female Indian politicians? Among

current female US Senators is a Clinton and a Dole. Lisa Murkowski

and Jean Carnahan are daughter and widow respectively of former

Senators. Women have a long way to go in politics in both India and

the US, says Wendy Singer, professor at Kenyon College who has

tracked the issue for years.

 

Despite their sub-par representation in politics, the role of women

in India's current resurgence is probably being vastly understated.

There are few studies to show female contribution to the Indian

economy, when in fact they constitute the life blood of national

well being. One fall-out of the rise of Indian women is their

changing profile abroad, and we are not talking beauty contests

here. More Indian women are coming out on work visas, not just on

dependent spousal status. Young professional Indian women are doing

brilliantly in the American workplace, as they are in India . The

stereotype of a sari-bindi home-maker is receding, although the

importance of that contribution can never be underestimated. Many

Indian women hold top corporate jobs: Pepsi's Indira Nooyi and Kraft

Food's Sarita Nayyar come to mind.

 

They are also successful doctors, teachers, writers, actors, and

entrepreneurs. More recently, Indian women are also showing that

they can also get their hands dirty with nuts and bolts as much as

the kitchen sink. There are several Indian women who are Chief

Technology Officers, including Padmashree Warrior of Motorola and

Lakhsmi Raman of Teraburst. The US National Institute of Standards

and Technology was headed by Dr Arati Prabhakar, while Dr Mitra

Dutta chairs the electrical and computer engineering department at

the University of Illinois.

 

These are but a few examples. As more and more Indian women school

and get higher education, it is certain India will have a huge,

skilled, female work force.

 

The economic implication of this could be staggering. It is cause

for celebration and one more reason to salute Indian womanhood. How

apt it is that the Goddess of Learning is Saraswati.

 

Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA: INDIASPORA/CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2003.

 

URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/344054.cms