In a country where Goddesses are worshipped and mothers are said to be the first form of God, do we need any kind of reservation for women? The ideal answer should be NO, we do not need any reservation.
The other day, after ratification of Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha, I saw Barkha Dutt talking to Sonia Gandhi on one of the news channels. My initial reaction after seeing the two women of substance, was, that if we have more and more women like these, there shall be no need for Reservation in Parliament or anywhere else. But hold on... immediately after that interview, I saw the animal like behaviour (sorry for the harsh words) of some of our so called leaders who were throwing bits n pieces of paper on the Speaker amongst the uproar in RS. And then I realised, that as long as such contemporaries exist, Reservation for Women in Parliament would help.
But, this convinces me only on a superficial level, and somewhere within I feel that reservation is not enough for women empowerment (don’t confuse it with a feminist movement:)). Empowerment starts much before a woman reaches the eligible age to enter Parliament. It starts right when you have one in your family. Family is the first and foremost unit that nurtures a person-man or woman, a male or female child. If a girl child is welcomed with the same warmth and love as her male sibling (female foeticide is still at a growing rate in our country), given the same if not more opportunities, encouragement, support (not just financial but emotional and moral support too), a feel good factor, there shall be no need for any kind of reservation anywhere. It is very important for a family to make the female member strong and capable enough to make a standing of her own in any circumstances without compromising on her dignity and losing her feminine grace. I'm lucky to have one such family (that's why kept on wondering initially if Reservation was required:))
