GUWAHATI, Jan 24 - Countries with the lowest level of violence against women are also the ones with a higher level of liberal and participatory democracy.
This was opined by writer and journalist Patricia Mukhim while delivering a lecture on �Making Meaning of Democracy � Gender, State and Ethnicity� in Cotton University on Friday.
�In a country like India, the higher the democratic threshold, the higher is the level of gender equality. The more democracy we have, the better are the chances of representation of women,� Mukhim said, while referring to several studies done by academic institutions.
The lecture was organised by the newly set up Women�s Studies Centre (WSC) of Cotton University, where Vice Chancellor of the university Bhabesh Chandra Goswami, Registrar Diganta Kumar Das, former Assam Chief Secretary TY Das, retired Head of the Department of English, Dibrugarh University, Tilottoma Misra, among others, were present.
�The representation of women in the political sphere is very limited. In the last parliamentary election, around 8,000 participants contested, out of which there were only 700 women and only 78 of them were elected. The women participation is just about 14 per cent. Moreover, out of the 78, only four have been inducted in the ministry. The scenario is the same when it comes to the Government of Assam. When voices are not heard, then there will never be equal representation of groups and people.�
She added that the same scenario is also being found in different institutions, including academics and judiciary.
Mukhim also emphasised the need to safeguard and protect the democratic rights and its interface with gender, especially in the context of Northeast India, its ethnic communities and pluralistic societies.
�In a country like India, we should have a common space for dialogue for diverse groups to facilitate conversation. But, sadly, in the Northeast we do not have such a single platform where we can meet and speak about our differences. These issues can only be resolved through constant engagement,� she added.
She also wondered as to why the political mobilisation of women is not resulting in enough representation of women in politics.
Earlier, WSC convenor Dr Rakhee Kalita Moral delivered the welcome address.
