Equality above all: A call for women’s liberation

The 25th anniversary of the formation of our republic is indeed a significant occasion to take stock of the position that the women of this country enjoy and the progress they have achieved since the days of colonial domination. Our Constitution provides for equality and the fact that there should be no discrimination on the grounds of sex, religion etc enshrined in the Fundamental Rights and particularly in Articles 14, 15 and 16. The realisation by the founding fathers of the Indian Constitution that women require special protection is also evidenced in the inspiring Directive Principles of State Polity in Chapter IV of the Constitution which affirms the right of full and equal franchise for all adults.
The Parliament of India has enacted various laws which give equal rights to women in marriage divorce and inheritance. But a uniform civil code is yet to be framed. When Gandhiji and Nehru called upon us to participate in the struggle against imperialism, Indian women responded in massive numbers, demonstrating that India could claim to be a civilised country of the 20th century. Unlike in several so-called advanced societies, the politically conscious men of India did not oppose the fundamental truth that women were not meant to be subservient creatures. There is, therefore, today no profession or academic body in India where women have not entered and have not made a mark. Mrs Ashima Chatterjee, head of the prestigious Indian Science Congress for the past year, is an eminent woman chemist. Dr (Miss) Padmavati, the renowned cardiologist, has just been selected to the Indian Academy of Medical Sciences. Besides, we have over 20,000 qualified women doctors with graduate degrees and higher qualifications, not to mention architects, engineers. writers, artists, sculptors, and, last but by no means the least, the one who directs the destinies of nearly six hundred million men and women, Mrs Indira Gandhi, India’s Prime Minister for nearly a decade
While in all these positions, there is equality of pay and service conditions, disparity remains as glaring as ever. Women have, of course, full and equal rights of franchise but out of 524 elected and nominated members in the Lok Sabha, there are currently only 25 women, and in the Rajya Sabha, they account for 18 out of a total of 241 members. This proportion in the state assemblies is maintained and should be a cause of concern for all the progressive political parties who enjoy a national stature.
Again, while there are 28 million men who have university degrees, there are only 700,000 odd women. Out of them, it is estimated, there are only 150,000 who are employed. But we have only been speaking of a minority as educated working women constitute around 2.5% of all employed women. Our deplorable condition becomes apparent when we consider the fact that only 18.72% of Indian women are literate Though the reason for this is primarily economic, it also reflects the persistence of feudal values and age-old attitudes towards women.
The percentage of working women is approximately 19% and most of them are employed in agriculture or in unskilled jobs in towns and cities. It is precisely in this sector that their exploitation is more intense and equal pay for equal work does not exist. In fact, the minimum wages declared by government notifications for labour in agriculture, in plantations and in small industries, are hopelessly inadequate in general, and unbelievably low for women. Unless the rights to equality of multitudes of women as wage earners is recognised, the status of women of the country can not be considered as equal in law and practice.
The women’s movement has to face these facts by striving to insist that the rights that exist in our Constitution must be implemented without further delay. We are, in doing so, not seeking any favour because we have earned the right to equality by participating actively in the fight against British imperialism. We are capable of sharing the tasks of national development if given greater opportunities and have been involving ourselves in actions to safeguard India’s independence and for world peace. That the vast majority of our sisters have to be made conscious of their rights and responsibilities is obvious. They have to be made politically aware and the message of enlightenment has to be taken from village to village. In the factories and in the fields, we must help them to organise themselves and exercise their inalienable right to equality. No effort has been made on the part of the government to set up an effective machinery for the implementation of these laws in practice. We, who believe that unless women are conscious partners in the cause of eliminating discrimination in all its forms and aspects. owe it to ourselves to act in unity and light the torch of enlightenment.
Aruna Asaf Ali was an educationalist and a freedom fighter.