Global IssuesQ&A: Politicisation Hurts Women in Communist-ruled State
Grassroots activist Anuradha Talwar was in the eye of a storm that swept Communist-ruled West Bengal state between 2006-08, over the acquisition of agricultural land for industries.
The state government decided to hand over 997 acres of fertile farmland to the Tatas, a leading Indian corporation, for their ambitious Nano, a small car project. Villagers of Singur, an obscure cluster of villages, 40 kms from the state capital Kolkota (previously Calcutta) fought back successfully.
Fifty-year old Talwar and her organisation Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samiti (Agricultural Workers’ Union of West Bengal) played a crucial role in this protracted struggle, attracting the wrath of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), which leads the state’s Left Front government.
CPI-M activists plastered the walls of her office with posters denouncing her as a CIA agent. Talwar who grew up in Delhi and Mumbai, moved to West Bengal only in 1981. Together with her husband, she has run a commune of agricultural workers in Madhyamgram, a semi rural town on the fringes of Kolkota, since 1985.
The organisation is actively involved in implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) that provides 100 days of work in a year to one member of every rural and urban family. In the run-up to elections in West Bengal in early May, Talwar talks to IPS about her experiences of working in the state.
IPS: You have been working for decades among rural women. Would you describe the political system in West Bengal as gender sensitive, responsive to women’s concerns?
Anuradha Talwar: Let me tell you gender does not exist as a plank for any political party here. The indifference comes through clearly in the parties’ election manifestos, which have little to say about women’s concerns. The same attitude shows in other issues, from the high number of women trafficked from this state to non-implementation of reservation of jobs for women under NREGA.
IPS: What is West Bengal’s record in trafficking?
AT: It is alarmingly high. In fact, it could well be said that the state leads in trafficking. In March 2009, the government, in a statement, said the number of trafficked women stands at 65,000. Out of them, 20,000 have been traced. The rest are missing.
IPS: What explains the high incidence?
AT: At the core of the problem is poverty stoked by sluggish job creation, rampant unemployment. In 1985, villagers could find work on both mono and multi-crop land. With the number of working days shrinking over the years, villagers are forced to migrate to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam.
Modernisation of agriculture has further added to the problem. Mechanisation has cut into employment. Migrants from the state are driven into forced labour. The link between trafficking and poverty can clearly be seen in the fact that Malda and Murshidabad, among the poorest districts, have the highest incidence of trafficking.
IPS: What about one-third reservation of jobs for women in NREGA? Would that not help in bringing down incidence of trafficking?
AT: Yes, it would. But West Bengal’s record in implementing NREGA and reserving jobs for women (the law provides for 33 percent reservation) leaves much to be desired. The national average for gender-based reservation is 48 percent. Tamil Nadu (south India) leads with 78 percent reservation. West Bengal, on the other hand, has a chequered record; 16 percent in 2006-07, 18 percent in 2007-08 and 22 percent in 2008-09. Job cards are given out in names of families. Women are not getting jobs here.
Another major area of non-implementation of NREGA is the government’s consistent failure to provide compensation allowance. Under the Act it is mandatory for the government to provide compensation in case of failing to provide work. In West Bengal over 6,000 people have filed for compensation - only 35 have received it so far. In fact the political leadership is not keen on implementing NREGA, which can function without patronage of party intermediaries.
IPS: What has been your experience of working with agricultural workers and women? Would you say West Bengal’s panchayats (village councils) reflect truly decentralised local governance?
AT: Panchayats are mostly controlled by CPI-M, which restricts the scope of independent functioning of elected representatives. Panchayat leaders execute decisions taken by the party. Other parties including the opposition Trinamool Congress are following in the CPI-M’s footsteps. Organisational structures of all political parties are geared towards one thing: winning elections.
IPS: In the late 1990s West Bengal government, under pressure from CPI-M backed All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), introduced pattas (documents of ownership of land) for women, both as single and joint owners of land. How successfully has this been implemented?
AT: I would say it has not really been successful. According to a recent statement by the state’s finance minister, Asim Dasgupta, the government has distributed 30 lakh (3 million) general pattas so far; out of this, 6.01 percent is jointly in the name of women and men and, 5 percent only in the name of women. Even here the problem we find is politicisation. Pattas are often given on the basis of loyalty to the CPI-M. In many cases pattas have been awarded on paper but not actually transferred to the beneficiaries. People are expected to vote the party, be loyal to it, in the hope of getting ownership of land.
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service