Equal representation drive demands action, not excuses, from Kerala’s political leadership

Writer and social activist Manasi said that equal representation for women in legislative bodies will remain impossible unless the deep-rooted male dominance within political movements is dismantled. Political leadership, she stressed, must carry the moral responsibility to confront social hierarchies, not just uphold legal formalities. She urged Kerala’s political parties to show that responsibility in the upcoming Assembly elections.

She was speaking while inaugurating the State convention of Thulya Prathinithya Prasthanam demanding equal representation for women in lawmaking bodies, at the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Hall in Thrissur on Saturday.

Kannur University Assistant Professor Malavika Binny delivered the keynote address.

A resolution passed at the convention slammed the Union government for adding two unnecessary conditions — a population census and delimitation — before implementing the Women’s Reservation Act. These conditions, it said, serve only to delay women’s reservation, even though neither is required to bring the law into effect.

The resolution pointed out that laws in India normally come into force on the date they are notified in the gazette. Making a law with no clear date and only a future implementation window is unheard of in India’s legislative history. In this context, the organisation urged political parties to ensure that at least 33 percent of their candidates in the next Assembly election are women.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the movement had submitted a petition with one lakh signatures to the conveners of both the LDF and UDF, demanding immediate implementation of women’s political rights. But political parties, the resolution said, were unwilling to acknowledge women’s democratic claim.