As Indian politicians court the female vote, women still fear walking home | World news | The Guardian
As Indian politicians court the female vote, women still fear walking home
The road is dark and there are men - drunk on cheap liquor sold in plastic bags - loitering along its length. But for the working women of Lakarpur village, a ramshackle collection of brick and cheap cement homes on the outskirts of Delhi, this forbidding ten-minute walk from the main highway is the only way home.
"It's terrifying, I always say a prayer and walk as fast as I can," said 35-year-old Radhika, a cook and cleaner for a middle-class family.
On Thursday, 13m people in Delhi are eligible to vote for seven representatives from among 150 candidates in the second phases of India's protracted general election. A turn out of at least 65t% is expected.
One key issue in the poll is the perceived failure of officials and policymakers to assure basic security.
The gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapist student in December 2012 prompted massive protests and an unprecedented nationwide discussion on the causes of the recent surge in sexual violence in India's sprawling capital. The outrage forced the government into hasty reforms: punishments for rape and harassment were stiffened and new "fast track" criminal courts set up to try cases of sexual violence. There were also promises to overhaul the police force, seen as a bastion of misogyny.
But women waiting yesterday at the bus stop where the victim and her friend were picked up by an unlicensed vehicle on her way back from a trip to the cinema said little had changed since the incident.
"It just isn't safe. There is so much harassment. Men just call out comments or even touch you. I'm scared," said Malvika Singh, a 21-year-old university student.
In this year's national campaign, parties are making an effort to win the "female vote". On Wednesday, front-page newspaper adverts paid for by the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised "empowerment of women". In his only major TV interview, Rahul Gandhi, the face of the outgoing Congress Party, repeatedly made the same pledge.
Indian women demonstrate outside the New Delhi police headquarters after the gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapist in December 2012. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP
All three parties contesting Delhi's polls, including the new Aam Admi (common man) party which briefly held power after a surprise success in local elections last year, have promised in their manifestos to set aside a third of all parliamentary seats for women, zero tolerance on sexual violence and better education and work opportunities for women. Yet of the 150 candidates standing, less than a tenth are women.
"There is a sense of tokenism in how parties choose women to contest elections," said Swarna Rajagopalan, political scientist and founder of the Prajnya Trust in Chennai, which works for public awareness on gender issues. "I want to know why they are nominating a certain woman, how they are backing change? It shouldn't be just a case of tick the box, okay we're done."
Although there are powerful women politicians in India - like the former film star Jayalalitha Jayaram, who has ruled the southern state of Tamil Nadu for eight years and the fiery Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal and a key regional powerbroker - India's national parliament ranks near the bottom worldwide for female representation, with only 11% of seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha, or lower house, taken by women.
"We want women leaders because we think women will have more sensitivity to gender issues. [But] the larger issue is not about men or women, it's about patriarchy," said Karuna Nandy, an Indian Supreme Court advocate and campaigner.
In India, many women still vote in line with the men in their families and are considered to be only concerned about domestic issues like the price of cooking gas.
An elderly Indian couple hold hands as they walk through a waterlogged underpass following heavy monsoon rain in Delhi. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP
But this is no longer the whole story, said Varghese K George, the political editor of the Hindu. "Women are getting extremely important and much more aware and active across the whole of India. The conventional wisdom is they prefer Congress, but studies from the last [2009] election show no major difference in voting patterns from men," he said.
Along with security, it is inflation that most bothers the women of Lakarpur village. Like millions of others across Delhi, they struggle with nearly7% inflation and a lack of basic services.
Radhika's husband has stopped using his own motorbike to get to work as a driver because petrol is too expensive, doubling his commuting time. Her 17-year-old son attends school an hour's train journey away because there are no decent local options and the couple cannot afford medical treatment for their 12 year old daughter's skin condition. The family have recently begun to cut back on milk, eggs, butter and meat.
What is still unclear is how far the anger of people like Radhika can change local politics, historically based on patronage, favouritism and opaque deal-making rather than development or governance.
There are some signs of a shift: the AAP rode to power in Delhi last year largely because it appeared to be an alternative to corrupt, careerist establishment politicians. The party found support primarily among the poor and some parts of the liberal elite. But a short and chaotic stint in power disillusioned many. There was no indication, said George the journalist, that the AAP was more popular among women than men however.
Radhika, who voted for the AAP last year in city polls, now plans to vote for the BJP because of its messages on creating jobs and economic growth.
"I can never vote for the Congress again after the gang rape," she said. "They were in charge and did nothing. But I also think our government, whoever is in charge, wants all poor people to die so there will be no more problems for them. Delhi can never be safe for women."
As Indian politicians court the female vote, women still fear walking home
The road is dark and there are men - drunk on cheap liquor sold in plastic bags - loitering along its length. But for the working women of Lakarpur village, a ramshackle collection of brick and cheap cement homes on the outskirts of Delhi, this forbidding ten-minute walk from the main highway is the only way home.
"It's terrifying, I always say a prayer and walk as fast as I can," said 35-year-old Radhika, a cook and cleaner for a middle-class family.
On Thursday, 13m people in Delhi are eligible to vote for seven representatives from among 150 candidates in the second phases of India's protracted general election. A turn out of at least 65t% is expected.
One key issue in the poll is the perceived failure of officials and policymakers to assure basic security.
The gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapist student in December 2012 prompted massive protests and an unprecedented nationwide discussion on the causes of the recent surge in sexual violence in India's sprawling capital. The outrage forced the government into hasty reforms: punishments for rape and harassment were stiffened and new "fast track" criminal courts set up to try cases of sexual violence. There were also promises to overhaul the police force, seen as a bastion of misogyny.
But women waiting yesterday at the bus stop where the victim and her friend were picked up by an unlicensed vehicle on her way back from a trip to the cinema said little had changed since the incident.
"It just isn't safe. There is so much harassment. Men just call out comments or even touch you. I'm scared," said Malvika Singh, a 21-year-old university student.
In this year's national campaign, parties are making an effort to win the "female vote". On Wednesday, front-page newspaper adverts paid for by the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised "empowerment of women". In his only major TV interview, Rahul Gandhi, the face of the outgoing Congress Party, repeatedly made the same pledge.
Indian women demonstrate outside the New Delhi police headquarters after the gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapist in December 2012. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP
All three parties contesting Delhi's polls, including the new Aam Admi (common man) party which briefly held power after a surprise success in local elections last year, have promised in their manifestos to set aside a third of all parliamentary seats for women, zero tolerance on sexual violence and better education and work opportunities for women. Yet of the 150 candidates standing, less than a tenth are women.
"There is a sense of tokenism in how parties choose women to contest elections," said Swarna Rajagopalan, political scientist and founder of the Prajnya Trust in Chennai, which works for public awareness on gender issues. "I want to know why they are nominating a certain woman, how they are backing change? It shouldn't be just a case of tick the box, okay we're done."
Although there are powerful women politicians in India - like the former film star Jayalalitha Jayaram, who has ruled the southern state of Tamil Nadu for eight years and the fiery Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal and a key regional powerbroker - India's national parliament ranks near the bottom worldwide for female representation, with only 11% of seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha, or lower house, taken by women.
"We want women leaders because we think women will have more sensitivity to gender issues. [But] the larger issue is not about men or women, it's about patriarchy," said Karuna Nandy, an Indian Supreme Court advocate and campaigner.
In India, many women still vote in line with the men in their families and are considered to be only concerned about domestic issues like the price of cooking gas.
An elderly Indian couple hold hands as they walk through a waterlogged underpass following heavy monsoon rain in Delhi. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP
But this is no longer the whole story, said Varghese K George, the political editor of the Hindu. "Women are getting extremely important and much more aware and active across the whole of India. The conventional wisdom is they prefer Congress, but studies from the last [2009] election show no major difference in voting patterns from men," he said.
Along with security, it is inflation that most bothers the women of Lakarpur village. Like millions of others across Delhi, they struggle with nearly7% inflation and a lack of basic services.
Radhika's husband has stopped using his own motorbike to get to work as a driver because petrol is too expensive, doubling his commuting time. Her 17-year-old son attends school an hour's train journey away because there are no decent local options and the couple cannot afford medical treatment for their 12 year old daughter's skin condition. The family have recently begun to cut back on milk, eggs, butter and meat.
What is still unclear is how far the anger of people like Radhika can change local politics, historically based on patronage, favouritism and opaque deal-making rather than development or governance.
There are some signs of a shift: the AAP rode to power in Delhi last year largely because it appeared to be an alternative to corrupt, careerist establishment politicians. The party found support primarily among the poor and some parts of the liberal elite. But a short and chaotic stint in power disillusioned many. There was no indication, said George the journalist, that the AAP was more popular among women than men however.
Radhika, who voted for the AAP last year in city polls, now plans to vote for the BJP because of its messages on creating jobs and economic growth.
"I can never vote for the Congress again after the gang rape," she said. "They were in charge and did nothing. But I also think our government, whoever is in charge, wants all poor people to die so there will be no more problems for them. Delhi can never be safe for women."
