KOCHI: In the euphoria of success, it is easy to forget one’s shortcomings. Speaking to TNIE on Saturday, immediately after UDF’s victory in two of the three by-elections in the state, Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan praised the work put in by Congress youth leaders, including Shafi Parambil, P C Vishnunath, Roji M John, and Mathew Kuzhalnadan. That not a single female leader was mentioned amid all the approbation and adulation was not hard to miss.
This is seen as part of a larger problem in the political space in the state, that sees gender equality being more or less jettisoned when it comes to being selected to fight elections or be part of the campaign machinery.
“It’s not that the Congress does not have hard-working women functionaries. But we are pitiably sidelined when elections are declared. Our male leaders don’t hesitate to speak in public about women’s empowerment, gender equality and inclusion. In the end, it’s the male caucus that decides everything,” a woman leader, who is still a favourite of the Gandhis, told TNIE on condition of anonymity.
KPCC secretary Jyothi Radhika Vijayakumar was once considered a candidate for the Vattiyoorkavu assembly and Rajya Sabha elections, only to be omitted on both occasions at the eleventh hour. Veena Nair, state general secretary of the Youth Congress, who contested the Vattiyoorkavu seat in 2021, is now nowhere in the election picture.
Vidya Balakrishnan, national secretary of the Youth Congress, is a two-time member of the KPCC screening committee, which finalises the list of candidates before it is hand over to the AICC. “She is the only member of the committee who has never fought an election,” another female leader pointed out.
Sharafunnisa Karoli was a firebrand orator respected even by opposition youth organisations. She and Roji M John MLA served as NSU national secretaries at the same time, when Rahul Mamkootathil was Pathanamthitta KSU district president. Sharafunnisa was never given a chance to be part of electoral politics. She is now a homemaker in Wayanad.
KPCC member Dr M Haripriya is another example. When she was KSU’s state vice president, a position she shared with Vishnunath, Shafi Parambil was the student wing’s Palakkad president and Hibi Eben its Ernakulam head. “Shafi and Hibi got the opportunity to prove themselves. The same cannot be said of us,” a woman leader fumed.
The Congress still has women working at the organisational level, something that even the Left would be envious of. Yet, the likes of Shama Mohamed, Dr Shilsi Mathew and Shejeena Majeed are yet to hit the big leagues. K K Leeshma helped the Congress make inroads into Alagappanagar grama panchayat, in Thrissur. The party continues in power there, but Leeshma was never given a second chance. Vani Prayag and Nimisha Kannur, who is also a housewife, are some of the other names that fall under this category. “It’s not that we can’t perform. We have never been given the chance to shine,” a senior female leader said.