Missing Real Women

Posted on 04. Dec, 2010 by Leela Raina in India

History is HERstory too…..

Amartya Sen has talked about the potential of “missing women” in India, Mahatma Gandhi had named them the agents of true change , and we have presiding our country the first woman president.

But does a position bring the power with it?

NO.

Sitting at the UNFCCC here today I reflect on all the great women who give me inspiration but when I look at the Indian Delegation that very same feeling of power and strength gets broken.

Rather shattered.

Out of the 42 people that are registered for this conference under the Indian contingent only 4…. Only 4 are women. So what does that percentage amount to ? 9.5%

The story does not end here. There are few active negotiators , those who take charge , shape strategy and make interventions, women don’t figure anywhere in this category . I was looking at the provisional list of participants which you can find here http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2010/cop16/eng/misc01p02.pdf

The four women in the delegation come in the capacity of mostly providing staff support Ms. Meghana Kshirsagar ,Consultant ,Ministry of Environment and Forests ;Ms. Sudatta Ray Technical Officer Ministry of Environment and Forests ;Ms. Rajasree Ray Deputy Economic Advisor Department of Economic Affairs ;Ms. Sumanna Bhattacharya National Expert Consultant Project Management Cell

Then what does give these women power? For the many conferences I have been too , I have realised that women don’t ever get the better share of the deal . We become figureheads. Pure dolls. The ones who set up meetings or take the notes. They are the back bone of the delagation and full respect for what they are doing, but they deserve much better. They are probably more qualified than those male negotiators who have just got on the delegation. Not the leaders and that could probably be attributed partly thats just how Indian Society see the role of women as. – The ones that get married, cook food, wash the clothes, and take care of their husband.

Rather what we need to be is like Sunita Narain who is awardee of the Padma Shri is an Indian environmentalist and political activist as well as a major proponent of the Green concept of sustainable development. She has been with the India-based Centre for Science and Environment since 1982. w

What is it to be an Indian woman , outspoken and confident? Ask Vandana Shiva a philosopher, environmental activist, and eco feminist.She is currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books and over 500 papers in leading scientific and technical journals. What is it to actually yield power, ask Sonia Gandhi who is the longest serving president of the Congress partyis and is also the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha and the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party

We talk about the significance of women. But what do actually mean? We mean proactive women negotiators like Bernarditas Muller who negotiated for phillipines earlier and the lead Venezuelan negotiator, ones from Bolivia or Grenada and how could we forget our very own executive secretary Christiana Figueres, who was a negotiator as well.

And let me reemphasize that when these are women who maintain their feminine qualities , who come in their bright red suits and yellow shoes with their hair all done up,take the floor , they sweep you off not so much because of the great charm and looks but because of their content and what they say.

Unlike the ones in the Indian delegation who are busy scheduling meetings, running around , correcting papers, and getting coffee we need REAL women. Real women who can stand up to the Indian mentality and give meaning to gender empowerment rather than being a poor excuse of it. To note, Indian Women are equally capable in the delegation to negotiate and they deserve to be given a chance. Regardless, they are the backbone of the delegation with out whom the Indian delegation would feel handicapped. But they need to transition into a stronger role because they deserve it.

I have to thank my parents for bringing me up as a person rather than a daughter or a son which has given me a lot of strength but for my fellow Indian women government delegates , I can leave great role models , and probably try to be one of them . But most of all I want to share one quote, that liberates me and that every woman should remember.

Nobody gives you power. You just take it. ~Roseanne Bar

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