Women as Catalysts for Peace

[Guest guest]

'Women as Catalysts for Peace and Stability'

- A perspective from India

Speech made by Archana Kapoor at

World Women's Forum at Seoul, Korea

 

Hard News Magazine, India

Nov. 28th, 2007

 

Nestled atop Nilanchal Hills in Guwahati, capital of India's

Eastern state of Assam, is the temple of Kamakhya. Unlike

other temples that are found at nearly all street corners in

our deeply religious country, there is no deity in Kamakhya.

Instead, there is a stone replica of a vagina, kept in the dark

interiors of the temple where blood of the sacrificial animals

is offered. This tantric temple is the source of power

(Shakti) for many of its adherents. Kamakhya is a

manifestation of an interesting strain in Hindu religion

where women goddesses and their symbols have been

blessing men who go to war. Invariably, these deities

provide religious sanction and moral seal on much of the

violence men have heaped on fellow men in many parts of

Hindu India. Interestingly, this temple is located in a

region, which has seen bloodshed and human rights

violation over the last many years.

 

These goddesses of War stand on the right side of goodness

and some of them like the goddess Kali is shown riding a

lion with a spear plunged deep in the demons heart. We

have a goddess Laxmi for wealth and prosperity and

goddess Saraswati for knowledge. Mercifully they are peace

loving.

 

The purpose behind explaining the importance of goddesses

in Hindu pantheon is not to show my religious leanings or

highlight the determinism that has prevented Indians from

ushering societal change, but to state that in India, women

are not submissive. [...]

 

Women participated actively in India's freedom movement

against the British colonialists and suffered the same

indignities as their protesting male brethren. History bears

witness that many ordinary women- housewives, young

students, daily wagers-- were at the vanguard of the non-

violent movement led by Father of the Nation, Mahatma

Gandhi. Displaying extraordinary courage they took baton

blows on their bodies whenever the British Police used

violence to suppress their peaceful protest. In many ways,

the non-violent nature of our freedom movement

contributed in laying the ground rules of dissent in our

democratic polity giving space for women to play a

legitimate role in airing their voice against injustice. India

would be one of the very few democracies in the world

where women occupy such important positions, without

attracting rancor or the proverbial glass ceiling that many of

our sisters experience in other parts of the world. [....]

 

A lot of it in India could be achieved due to our enlightened

gender just freedom movement and the fierce commitment

of our founding fathers to democracy. This year we

complete sixty years of our independence and we can say

that there has been a lot that has been achieved in the realm

of women empowerment. It is possible for women to do

what they want. They can occupy political posts at all the

levels- beginning from the village unit-right to the very

top. This has been facilitated by policies of positive

discrimination pursued by successive governments. At the

village level, 33 percent elected representatives have to be

women. A similar kind of reservation policy, which has

been resisted by the status quo, would find expression in the

national parliament.

 

Women can also join the armed forces and fly aircrafts.

There are thousands who are in policing duties. Thousands

of young women are giving meaning to India's IT success

by working as programmers, knowledge workers etc.

 

As I repeat again women could do all this and more

primarily due to the fact that India gender just constitution

and its democratic institutions provided women an

environment where they could actualize their potential. In

politics they were helped by the compulsion of the political

parties to enlarge their constituencies and that meant

respecting the rising aspirations of women. While the exact

impact of women at the top is not visible in many of the key

policy initiatives, it is a matter of time when it gets known.

Before, I move on to the major concerns of the seminar, I

would state that women leaders display greater sensitivity to

human rights, but on other occasions conduct themselves

like men.

 

In areas where there is no rule of law and democratic

institutions have been subverted due to years of insurgency,

women are the worst sufferers. They are victims and spoils

of protracted tribal wars or army's high handedness. The

state of Manipur in the same region as the Kamakhya

temple is a case in point.

 

A beautiful, verdant state sharing its border with Myanmar,

Manipur has been a scene of insurgency with local tribes

wanting independence from the country. During my last trip

to Manipur, I realized what it was to live in the shadow of

the gun. Everywhere I went I found gun toting troops. There

was no right to privacy and troops would even watch over

women bathing in public baths. Manipuri were getting

mauled in the crossfire of suspicion between Indian army

and the militants. [....]

 

But one must remember violence in armed conflict

situations is very different from the one women have to

experience in every day life in India. Absence of rule of law

makes it difficult for women to realize their full potential as

they are always bothered about their physical safety.

Incidentally, in our country where the rule of law is the

poorest, the status of women too is the worst. In north

Indian states their participation in formal sector is far lower

than in south India where crime rate is lower. In Southern

states again, female literacy is highest and majority of them

step out of the comfort and protection of their homes to take

up jobs. [....]

 

It is only in a democratic environment where there are

institutional mechanism to redress grievances that women

can have representation in politics and thus influence policy.

In India there is an attempt to correct the imbalance with 33

% reservation for women at the level of local self-

government. But it may take time for the women to actually

understand their powers and their potential to become

effective leaders and come out of the shadow of their father,

brothers and husband. In large part of feudal and poor India

women are victims of a systemic internal violence - which

means that they may not be beaten up or outraged but there

is a pall of fear that hangs over many communities where

women are penalized if they cross the boundary laid down

by the men folk.

 

Although India has many women occupying top positions,

the real change would come once democratic institutions are

strengthened at the grass root level. There is a limit to what

the top down intervention can do. To sum up, the only way

transformation can take place in a poor country is, if the

governments ruthlessly enforce the rule of law and give

security and dignity to women. It is only in such an

environment that women could be the harbingers for

restoring peace and stability in a hate and conflict laden

environment.

 

http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/portal/2007/11/1818