It is only timely that on the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of 1995, which was endorsed by 189 governments, the UN Women’s ‘Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for an equal future’ campaign is demanding equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to sexual harassment and violence against women and girls, health care services that respond to their needs, and their equal participation in political life and in decision-making in all areas of life.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director, has said that 2020 is a milestone year as women’s rights movements are mobilising, urged on and supported by UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign. The UN body has have initiated six Action Coalitions that will bring together governments, the UN, civil society and the private sector to generate resources and catalyse game-changing results for gender equality.
But, the UN Women Executive Director believes that politics is still an overwhelmingly male domain, with three quarters of parliamentary seats held by men.
Even in Kerala, the role of women in politics is still largely a tokenism. In a state where women are the majority in the population, they have only two representatives in the Government. While their participation in local government bodies have increased considerably, thanks to Panchayati Raj law, there is a need for bold steps in this direction.
In a landmark ruling in February 2020, the Supreme Court of India ordered the government to grant permanent commission to women officers in the Army’s noncombat support units on par with their male counterparts should they wish to continue with it after completing their short-service commission. The court said that the government’s arguments against it were discriminatory, disturbing and based on stereotype.
In this issue of Brand Kerala, we have featured a handful of women, ministers, bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, writers, and social workers, who have struck out on a path of their own. They are firm voices that speak a different language, fighting against social norms and taking on responsibilities that are on a par with their male colleagues.
Even as we honour a woman representative who has boldly taken on her role as a health minister to be one among the best that the nation has seen, we cannot ignore the mayhem that Covid 19 has unleashed across the world. Even though India has been insulated by and far, the effect of the epidemic is being felt in this country too.
As the total number of infected nears 100,000 worldwide, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, warned governments on March 5, 2020 that the continued international spread of the novel coronavirus will require significant action if public health authorities are to contain the deadly outbreak.
The virus has spread to more than 80 countries and territories since it was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. According to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report the trade impact of the epidemic for India is estimated to be about $348 million and the country figures among the top 15 economies most affected as slowdown of manufacturing in China disrupts world trade. Keep your figures crossed as Kerala is faced with yet another crisis for the third year in a row.
Bimal Shivaji
Editor in Chief
