हिंदी
Chandigarh October 11, 2023
The Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh organized a special lecture under the lecture series “Public Policy – Theory and Praxis” on the topic, “Gender Quota in Rural Local Bodies – Constraints and Concerns” in the Seminar Room of the Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh. Prof. Prabhat Kumar Datta, Centenary Professor, Calcutta University and Senior Visiting Professor, St. Xavier University, Kolkata was the Resource Person.
Dr. Bharati Garg welcomed the guests and the Resource Person and introduced the theme of the lecture and set the tone for the Resource person.
Professor Datta in the introduction of his lecture referred to poor women representation in politics in developing world with specific reference to India. He stressed that women’s movement in Europe has led to increase in women participation in Nordic countries. However, many under developed countries have also witnessed an increase in women’s participation in politics i.e. in Rwanda it is 66%. His lecture focused on the question of “Gender Justice” and quota in politics and governance. He stressed on the significance and dire need of gender justice in inclusive governance processes. The speaker further traced the origins of gender justice in modern times to the gender development decade (1975-1985) spearheaded by the United Nations. He credited the passing of 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts to the commitments that India made to the UN in 1975 to 1985.
Further, Prof. Dutta signified the need of convergence between politics of presence and politics of ideas for sustainable gender justice. He attributed the problems of gender justice to three major reasons i.e. individual and family; social and political; institutional-legal and corroborated these with many case studies from across the country. In the concluding remarks, Prof. Datta stressed on the need of having a robust system of gender justice which is owned by the women, but which needs to be supported by the State. He shared many anecdotes and findings of many research studies on challenges and constraints faced by women in politics conducted by research organizations like PRIA (Participatory Research in Asia) and other Institutions. He explained that the patriarchal setup of the society is the biggest challenge hindering gender justice and successful implementation of women’s reservation at local level. He shared Rabinder Nath Tagore’s writings on women empowerment and concluded with the remarks that the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts served as a piece of land for the women, but it’s time that they build a house of their own.”
The talk was followed by discussion and questions/answers. The lecture was attended by students, research scholars, faculty members of the Department and RGNIYD.
Dr. Bhawna Gupta, Department of Public Administration proposed the formal vote of thanks to the speaker for his well documented and enlightening lecture.
