We have constituted the Women’s Security Division in the Home Ministry, and have made strict provisions for transferring the laws in order to commit crimes against women,” read a line from the BJP manifesto released ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. It might have intended to imply ‘checking crimes against women’ but this gaffe has led to many a jab on social media from other parties and the public including: ‘At least one point in BJP’s manifesto reflects their true intentions’ and it being termed a ‘Freudian slip’.
What this oversight does make it consider though is if manifestos, parties or governments in power can actually commit crimes against women, with or without an actual commitment to the cause. And the answer is, yes they can! Here are a few ways how:
● Mention ‘women’ 44 times in a 45-page document averaging the word to nearly once a page, but in essence forget that ‘gender mainstreaming’, as a policy concept exists to ensure it is accounted for in every vertical and ministry, and restrict the usage of the word 30 times to the one section about ‘women’s empowerment’. An example of this is mentioned as ‘women farmers’ in the section reserved for women, but using ‘his’ as the go-to pronoun while discussing ‘Doubling farmers’ income’.
● Group ‘women’ as one large constituency, because they are a homogenous half of the vote bank with the same demands across every division, and intersectionality in thought, approach and reality can take a walk till the next elections.
● Forget that gender justice includes but is not only about women, and make no mention of queer or non-binary persons after the landmark supreme court judgement — decriminalising homosexuality, and relegate Transpersons as ‘Transgenders’ to a few vague lines about socio-economic policy initiatives, self-employment and skill development. Oh, do not acknowledge that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill has made the community unhappy declaring the day it was passed as a ‘black day’.
● Dalits must be mentioned not once because ‘what is caste?’ Continue to live in denial about caste atrocities, Brahminical patriarchy and structural violence.
● Repeat over and over that the only minority that exists is religious. Assure Muslim women rights while their fathers, husbands, sons and friends face the threat of being lynched because someone feels like it.
● Convince everyone that concern for Muslim women’s rights comes because all other women have their rights restored. No one’s right to speech, safety, mobility or sexuality is being curbed. We are in a post-everything society.
● Cut down funding for women’s studies centres at institutes and make no mention of women in STEM (even after accounts of the women scientists behind Mangalyaan, more popularly known as the Nation’s shining symbol), while promising ‘Education for All’. Conveniently forget sex-ed in schools and colleges; stress that researchers pursue topics of ‘national interest’. Wait to be reminded that someone important said: “Let us push our boundaries and then push some more”.
● Feign surprise that the health agenda makes no mention of contraception, abortion rights because we want an army of ‘little Rams’. Stress on national security and a militarised approach in conflict areas that continue to put women into the mouth of large scale violence.
● Bring growth, development, GDP, and ‘Make in India’ into the mainstream conversation while practising models of development that deeply impact traditional livelihoods and people who are dependent on natural resources for their survival be it in coastal or forest regions. Not ‘Make in India’, but make self-sufficient communities increasingly dependent on capitalist markets. The woman question is at the heart of this in case you’re wondering.
● Don’t recognise women’s unpaid work in households and social reproduction because this work is not the same as women in workforce.
● Spin the spiel about 33 per cent reservation for women in parliament and state assemblies. Stubbornly look away when elected representatives and Chief Ministers of large states make comments about caging, protecting and curbing energies, all with respect (or none at all) to women.
● Tackle sexual harassment (even
after a minister has been accused) and violence with post-facto mechanisms such as fast track courts instead of preventive measures in awareness and sensitisation. Do not talk to men about this ‘women’s issue’, because believing women are goddesses will keep them safe.
● Uphold tradition and regressive ritual to discriminate against women. ‘Pollution’ is at the root of inequality in this country, but of course understanding that has never been a claim. Building the temple is, and doing that will serve as a reminder for eons to come that we will celebrate men who send their wives away and that a constitution can be killed.
● Make grand plans to celebrate the country at 75, when the ‘Idea of India’ has been hung to death.
● Declare determination to ‘go beyond tokenism’ but do nothing, not even proofread to ensure that a manifesto is in a rare instance promising an achievable goal — ‘commit crimes against women’.
The writer is a city-based activist, in-your-face feminist and a media glutton