At the time of writing this post, it seems unlikely that the Women's Bill will be passed into Law today, on International Women's Day. I have mixed feelings about this Bill, as I do about anything that involves social reform through the creation of quotas. This usually applies to the historically underprivileged / exploited / abused / oppressed sections of society, and we try and make it good by reversing the discrimination against them through discrimination for them, by law.
Happy Women's Day (though I have mixed feelings about that too, but maybe we'll talk about it in another post).
P.S. Here's an interesting analysis: http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2010/03/08/some-questions-on-the-womens-reservation-bill/
As a people we represent a rich social and cultural diversity, but we have not yet learned to embrace this diversity. Instead we have deepened the divisiveness, be it on the basis of caste, creed, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, language and even physical or mental ability. And sometimes we've set out to do good and ended-up making it worse. According to me, reservations and quotas are like that. My heart goes out to the oppressed but my head remains unmoved when it comes to special considerations for them. Here's my logic, laid out over 4 simple statements:
- I do not believe in discrimination of any kind
- Reservations and quotas, by their very definition, differentiate one group of humans from another
- They are therefore yet another form of discrimination
- That is why I do not believe in them
For once, I am not sure what I would wish for, as far as today's outcome in Parliament is concerned.
Happy Women's Day (though I have mixed feelings about that too, but maybe we'll talk about it in another post).
P.S. Here's an interesting analysis: http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2010/03/08/some-questions-on-the-womens-reservation-bill/
