THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “In matters of faith, I do not think the believers will change their stance when you say something,” opined Mariam Dhawle, CPM central committee member and national general secretary of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA). “Thousands of years of conditioning won’t change in a day”, she said. Dhawle is in the city in connection with the forthcoming AIDWA’s national conference from January 6 to 9.
“You can’t just convince people in one day. You say something and think that it will change. It doesn’t happen. That is thousands of years of conditioning. Our society is not just black and white. There are a lot of things that worked together. We are against the practice of ‘kanyadan.’ We have convinced the people. But does it change?” she asked while responding to a question on why AIDWA failed to convince women protesters who took to the streets against the SC verdict allowing women to Sabarimala.
Mariam Dhawle also said that AIDWA respects people’s right to believe in whichever religion they want. “We are very clear about it. As AIDWA we don’t impose any kind of order upon people. But at the same time, we speak of equal rights for women. It cannot happen in one day,” she said.
The AIDWA general secretary said the organisation will think about taking up the demand for women reservation in private sector. “Reservation alone won’t solve the issue. For 500 jobs you will get 5 lakh applications. Reservation should be there. Reservation alone will not solve the problem. Government should increase job opportunities.” She said that, in the last three years child trafficking has increased in the country, especially after the pandemic.
“We work in villages and slums where there is absolutely no scope for livelihood. In those areas agents approach parents and guarantee them that they will provide jobs to the children. Desperation is so much that sometimes parents agree to send their minor children with these people. Once they are gone, sometimes parents cannot contact them. At other times, children themselves agree to go because of extreme poverty.”
She criticised the Union government for its failure to implement laws to protect women.“The first thing when a violent incident is reported, you have to register an FIR. To get the FIR registered is a struggle in itself. Most cases fail in the inquiry stage itself. The conviction rate in crimes against women is only 25%. In 75% of cases, it doesn’t take place. If the accused is linked to any political party, then the party and the system will protect them,” she pointed out.