Reservations for women has always been a controversial topic. some are in favor of it and others are not. I fall in the later category. It doesn't make sense to me that how can a previlaged upbringing make you feel equal.
I mean, men and women are equal and yet women get a privilaged push coz they are women. This is where the logic fails. You cannot make a woman feel equal to men unless there is no inequality.. neither for men nor for women.
And is reservation a privilage is again a debatable topic for me.
Lets take for example local trains. A train has around 12 compartment out of which there are only 3 compartments for females. Even considering that there is a huge discrepancy in sex ratio ( 922/1000) and the fact that part of females are housewives ( well they also travel for shopping et al) We can atleast say that there is 1 female for every 2 men. And this means logically the space alloted to females should be 4 compartments out of 12.. This reservation business has actually limited the mobilty of females.
Now moving back to educational sector again, the 33% reservation that we talk about is actually a sham. I mean the 'progressive' females of metro need no reservation. They go to the same school and same coaching classes as men. So in no way are they differentiated but during the admission. If the admissions were open it might be possible that there are more females than men in the classes ;) ** This might be one of the reasons why the reservation is there. I mean like females cover themselves up coz men cant control their sexual impulses.. this also might be a cover up** Okay. I am stretching the argument here. But my point still stays. Atleast for the urban woman.. there is no need for reservations!
Now lets consider non metro areas. Frankly most of the seats either go empty or are converted into management seats coz females are not allowed to pursue. And hence it really makes no sense. nearly 60 years have passed by and we atleast have 2 generation of people born after independence. We females have got enough handicap. Its time for us to have equality not with concessions but with dignity.
The very act of reservation for me spells out that "we" are backward in someway and that deters the feeling of being equal.
Like the double stds in our constitution... All men are equal and yet some are privilaged for life not coz they need it but coz they are of a particular caste! And yet we de cry that caste discrimination has not died down. It wont ever die down unless we stop this discrimination for real.. and not play act at it.
If we make excuses for the discriminations they would never stop! Be it on gender basis or caste basis!
Okay I am done! I know again quite a controversial post for me.. Well I just had to write this.. with so many posts that I am reading offlate on these topics...
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Its quite a subject eh!!!!!
The country I live in now is full of it....separate facilities for women everywhere.
And I have to tell u I totally enjoy & make full use of the facilities.
I quite like the ladies que & waiting rooms which is not so crowded as the men's que where I dont get jostled about.
I make full use of the seats they have reserved for ladies in the buses.
I love going to the 'ladies only' bank coz I get my work done in double quick time.
I love going to the ladies loo coz I'm sure it doesnt stink like a public loo.
There is nothing equal abt a man & a woman.
Men & women are made differently & are born to play different roles in life.
A woman does not have to do what a man does to prove herself.
Just like a man she has her own strengths & weaknesses but tht doesnt make any less or more than a woman.
Yeah I'm aware u are talking abt bigger issues & I'm going on abt piddly stuff. I have never seen a man cribbing that its unfair tht woman always get to experience pregnancy.
Yes we do get a few considerations like this but as long as we use it intelligently & to our advantage.......what's the fuss all abt??????
ummmmm.......did I overdo it?????
:-P
Ah not over doing it dear.. our context is mixed up I am all uup for these things..
I quite like the ladies que & waiting rooms which is not so crowded as the men's que where I dont get jostled about.
I make full use of the seats they have reserved for ladies in the buses.
I love going to the 'ladies only' bank coz I get my work done in double quick time.
I love going to the ladies loo coz I'm sure it doesnt stink like a public loo.
The point is that females should have these services.. if its all women establishment.. its cool by me.. I mean i am not against girls school and all..
My point is.. like a female would always give her salary to a man.. or use the whole of it for the family.. while a man would keep some for himself.. I have known of females who dont even know how much her husband earn but he knows exactly how much she spends ..
Well thats beside point.. my point is.. that special privileges shudnot be given..
Men and women r equal with different sensibilities thats all! If a female wants to be a pilot she has every right to be as long as she is capable enough.. not coz she was chosen as she had a seat reserved for her!
hope I am making myself clear
@Reflections- Some of these reservations are also to protect women from being molested and I would say rather required. We need to make an all out effort to make it possible for women to get out of their houses and live independent lives.
I would also say that there is an unwritten reservation for men in many places, like in many jobs and careers, inheritance ... so I am not sure if some reservation for women is really a sign of their being backward or of being underprivileged. Or of just balancing?
you know what winnie,
actually, I do not mind reservations for women.
as long as there is no equality, people do need a helping hand.... and IHM as said that brilliantly.....
IHM.. I do not see it as balancing.. any kind of compromise is a way of saying a handicap is needed. Which is not. Women are more than capable of handling anything without the handicap.. enough of mollycoddling which actually is deterrent to our being equal..
Equal means equal in opportunities.. so I dont think reservation is needed
Ajit but I do mind.. we are no less than men in any way.. why then a reservation?
Do we have a reservation for men in teaching jobs ( primarily a feminine domain) or in home science or in nursing? No! Why ? this is predominantly a female domain.. men shud be given some kinda handicap no?
Since we dont for men.. we shudnt fr females..
I do not say it was a wrong thing to do.. It was right under those circumstances.. 60 years hence.. the circumstances are different!
Meena, what a subject.
I thought things were improving overall... I still can't believe that only a short while ago widows were burned alongside their husbands...
I guess we do need reservations to udermine the unsaid reservaations for men in practice since years...
Before we talk about reservations, or a even for instance, a lot of feminism (which supposingly seems to be the new fad) or the gender divide, i think we have to understand the frame work of our society. Essentially, ALL MEN , i mean ALL men , deep deep down atleast, have this superiority ego. That doesn mean that all men are hypocrites but its just that the society functions that way from days of yore. The day they learn to understand and abhor this divide Truly , equality ensues. And Reservations , what for? In an egalitarian society when men and women equal their responsibility, there is no subjective need for any reservation! :-)
Well, first of all it's great to see you are opposing to this kind of a reservation, being a woman and backing your point with facts.
This is just a political plank that is being played. Just as the reservations based on caste,my opinion on this would also be to provide equal & quality education from the primary level to both men & women. We start discriminating from the very basic level leaving a big gap.
Finally, looking at the growth of Indian women today, I doubt the politicians are simply trying to limit them to 33%, so that they can carry on the tag of 'male-dominated' parliament& government.
And why you call it a controversial topic???
You should write on these more often.
Winnie if reservations are not required then why have them even for minorities and others?Because to roll back centuries of inequality takes time and some groups which have been the opressed ones,the downtrodden ones since centuries need a helping hand.
Reservations are in no way meant to be permanent.They are there till the time the gruops that they are intended for achieve an equal place in society be it women, or any other.
You and I might not need reservations.But a women who want to stand for panchayat elections do.Because unless the women are guaranteed some seats because of reservation for women, there is no way a patriarchal village society will let them. stand for elections.
With reservations for women in place,the men have no choice.but to let women stand .
Reservations are nothing but helping hands till ther time that particular gruop is able to stand on an equal footing.
Agnes... things are improving and they have improved a lot.. and its time for reforms yet again :)
Pratsie.. temme.. do u really need reservation ? u as a female? Forget about the gains.. think about the fact that u r as good as the next person no ? rather the next guy!
Archie.. the deep down superiority ego that you are talking about is as u said due the fact that since ages they have been taught that..
Like when some kid cries.. he has to "be a guy" .. thats when he u\s the diff... he is a guy something way better than the "girls" hence shudnt do what the girls do.. The difference is what reiterates the gender difference ** stuff of psychology** but the point is at the same time he is shows tht he is better than girls.. thats where the problem lies.. since he is taught that by his mother...
We have to change that mother.. and only then we can expect the guy to change.. if we change ourselves we can expect our grand daughters to have a better life! And to change ourselves.. we have to stop accepting the divide..
Ummm....Winnie & IHM U r absolutely right ofcourse:-D.
I also have to agree with Indyeah here "Reservations are nothing but helping hands till ther time that particular gruop is able to stand on an equal footing."
IHM: Something in ur site shuts all my pages down in 10 secs:-(
I don't know what to do!!? I have even removed some gadgets ... let me try asking some of our tech-savvy bloggers why this is happening!
:(
Shubhajit you have same opinions as me :) Umm it is still a controversy.. and I dont generally like to indulge in it.. personal choice:)
Reservations an interesting topic to blog!!
The world is run by men at least that is what they like to believe.
I support reservation for women in trains & buses as it protects them from the perverts. No matter how urbanized a women, she will also prefer the reservations if she travels in the public transportation.
The ironies of a women's life is that no matter how progressive she is in a progressive country, she is still made to feel like a "loser". but there are exceptions to this.
I would rate women higher compare to men on equality, the fact is they are. Not everyone is aware of this, not even the women. There is the word of caution too. The reservations needs to be treated as privilege and not birth rights (I have seen the ugly side of it)
Your blog reminds me of Rauf sir's blog on women how religion rules were formed to make them feel inferior.
In the BEST bus,when I travel,it's horrible for them with all the lecherous stares and creeps and perverts.
If there were no reservations,the situation would be even worse.
Abhi.. think of this.. how can u feel equal when u feel u got an advantage? and.. how will a guy respect you in that case.. besides.. I feel reservation for urban women is not required.
@village panchayat.. well it myt be true that reservation is reqd there.. but think about Rabri devi.. she is CM of bihar.. (or was i am not really good with these stuff :( ) and yet nominally so.. isnt it? If she is so totally under influence of her husband.. is she worth being the CM ?
A woman who stands up despite the situation deserve to be free..
besides.. umm. its been more than 60 years.. its about time the reservations stops..
I mean crutches are good when you are hurt in your legs.. but after sometimes how much ever painful it is.. one has to stop using them and start walking without it!
If one gets used to crutches.. its hard to stand back on own feet..
IHM move to wordpress.. umm blogger is becoming too overloaded.. I am planning to.. soon..
Yogesh I agree to you in parts.. I dont think women r better than men.. i think they r better in someways and bad in others.. I am against reserved seats.. but I wouldnt mind separate buses for women :)
@ rauf... he is more effective in his words than i can ever be
My point is.. society has taught men that they r superior and females that they r inferior..
one gave hands to the first females expected.. little shove to second generation.. acceptable
But te third generation shud make their own way.. they just have to!
Raagman I agree! I have been at the receiving end of it! thats why separate buses for females are the best possible solution!