New leader at MSCW : Advocating gender policy
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 16 2018 -

As the recently named Chairperson of the Manipur State Commission for Women, retired Professor Dr Meinam Binota was bang on target in pitching for a gender policy in the State.

The ground reality do demand a policy that shields women from the steep and disturbing patriarchal mindset of society, where women are generally treated as the lesser being.

Manipur may have given the world the two Nupi Lans, it may be the only place where there is an Ima Market, a market run and managed exclusively by womenfolk and it may have given the Meira Paibi movement to the world.

At the same time it would be in the fitness of things to question whether the womenfolk have come to play such a central role inspite of the social system or whether it is because of the social system.

Maybe an insightful sociological study on the role and status of Manipuri women may be in line to come anywhere near a satisfactory answer, but far from the academic world, the public need to study and introspect on where they put women in society and within the four walls of one’s home.

Despite the high status or special role of women tom tommed in the public sphere, where do women exactly stand ?

Put on a pedestal in the public sphere but reduced to a punching bag within the four walls of one’s house may not exactly be over stretching things, but this is the case in many instances.

Not uncommon too to see the birth of a son being celebrated in a big way, courtesy a lavish lunch on the swasti puja while the celebration on the birth of a daughter is kept to the minimum level.

This certainly goes some way in understanding where women are made to stand or sit in society’s hierarchical order.

It is this which the Chairperson of MSCW must have kept in mind when she mooted the idea of a gender policy in the State.

Gender equality, this is what the gender policy should seek to realise and even as such a proposal has been mooted, it would do good for all to ponder over where women stand in society.

Why has Manipur not been able to produce a woman Chief Minister so far ?

How many women MLAs are there in the present Assembly and how many women MLAs have been there since Manipur attained Statehood ?

Where do they stand in the bureaucracy ?

Where do they stand in the policy decision hierarchy ?

Granted women in Manipur are placed much better than women in other parts of the country, but this should not lull anyone into believing that there is nothing more to be done to ensure equal opportunity to both sexes.

And the beginning towards this should come from the home where children should be taught that all are equal, that there is no discrimination between sons and daughters and where all women are treated with respect, just as men are treated.

It is only when there is respect for the other gender that one can expect crimes against women to come down.

It is only when all are treated equally that rape cases will see a drastic decline.

Gender policy will certainly go a long way in addressing the rights of all genders and this is where the stand of the new Chairperson of the MSCW should be understood and appreciated.

Hope the Government has listened to what has been mooted.