VZCZCXRO8728
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHNE #1319/01 1761214
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251214Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7128
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 001319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN KDEM IN
SUBJECT: CONGRESS PARTY LEVERAGES ELECTORAL WIN TO EMPOWER 
WOMEN 
 
REF: NEW DELHI 1163 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Following an impressive win in the 2009 
Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led United Progressive 
Alliance (UPA) government demonstrated the value it places on 
female constituents by introducing a cachet of women's 
empowerment initiatives.  President Patil's outline of her 
government's priorities for its first 100 days included 
ensuring passage of the long-pending Women's Reservation 
Bill.  The bill would set aside one-third of the elected 
seats in the Lok Sabha and in state legislatures for women. 
While the bill enjoys support from the Congress Party, the 
main 
opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Left Front, 
securing its passage during the 15th Lok Sabha will require 
political finesse.  Contacts predict the bill is likely to be 
passed during the Lok Sabha's winter session, with a watered 
down reservation of 20 percent of seats for women.  If the 
UPA government succeeds, it will still face challenges in 
recruiting and retaining effective female politicians. 
 
¶2. (U) Summary continued.  President Patil also pledged to 
increase the number of seats reserved for women in elected 
village councils and city municipalities from one-third to 
one-half, and to re-brand the "National Literacy Mission" as 
the "National Mission for Female Literacy" which would strive 
for 100 percent literacy for women over the next five years. 
The UPA government plans to boost the number of women working 
for the central government and establish the National Mission 
on the Empowerment of Women to coordinate the implementation 
of welfare programs targeting women.  End Summary. 
 
Reservation Bill Basics 
---- 
 
¶3. (U) In a June 4 address to both houses of Parliament (Ref. 
A), India's first female president, Pratibha Patil, outlined 
her government's priorities, many of which focused on the 
political and economic empowerment of Indian women.  The 
newly-elected lower house, the Lok Sabha, includes 58 female 
MPs, finally pushing the number of women members past the 10 
percent mark, the highest percentage in India's history.  The 
most dramatic aspect of Patil's speech was the commitment to 
secure passage of the Women's Reservation Bill within the UPA 
Government's first 100 days in office.  The speech marked the 
first time a president had ever highlighted women's issues 
during an opening address to Parliament. 
 
¶4. (U) The Women's Reservation Bill was first introduced in 
1996, but regional parties scuttled it several times, fearing 
it would crowd out smaller parties and benefit only elite, 
urban women.  The proposed bill would reserve one-third of 
the elected seats in the Lok Sabha and in state legislatures 
for women.  In its current form, the bill stipulates that the 
reserved seats rotate randomly between different 
constituencies in a state or union territory every election 
-- meaning a seat reserved during one election, would not be 
reserved during the next election.  The reservation system 
would enter into force during the next election and end after 
15 years.  If the bill passes, India would be the only 
country in the world to reserve such a large percentage of 
seats in its legislature for women.  The bill requires a 
constitutional amendment and a two-thirds majority in both 
houses to become law.  In the Lok Sabha, this means the UPA 
government would need 364 votes. 
 
¶5. (U) The bill enjoys broad support from the major national 
parties, including the Congress Party, the BJP, and the Left 
Front.  Proponents of the bill, such as Women Power Connect's 
Ranjana Kumari, asserted that while India's constitution 
guaranteed equality of the sexes, the reality was much 
different and required affirmative action to help remedy the 
situation.  Reservations for women for one-third of the seats 
in panchayats (elected village councils) and municipalities 
were introduced first in 1993.  Kaushiki Sanyal, a Senior 
Analyst at PRS Legislative Research, conveyed to Poloff that 
a 2008 study by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj revealed that 
women on the panchayat became more confident in their 
decision-making ability and tended to allocate more resources 
at the village-level toward projects benefiting women and 
children. 
 
Pitfalls and Political Games 
---- 
 
¶6. (U) Opponents, including some women's rights activists, 
argue the reservation system would perpetuate the unequal 
status of women, especially if the public began to believe 
that women are not competing on merit.  Additionally, critics 
charge that the policy diverts attention from larger issues 
 
NEW DELHI 00001319  002 OF 003 
 
 
of electoral reform, such as establishing term limits, 
forcing MPs who are serving in prison to resign, and 
combating corruption.  The rotation system has also come 
under fire, with critics alleging that if a sitting MP knows 
his seat will be reserved next election, he has little 
incentive to work for his constituency as he would be 
ineligible to seek re-election from that constituency. 
 
¶7. (U) The bill has met strong opposition from the leaders of 
regional, caste-based parties in northern states such as 
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.  Sharad Yadav, Janata Dal United 
(JDU) party president and one of the bill's most outspoken 
critics, declared he would "consume poison and die" before he 
would allow the bill to be passed in its current form. 
Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh 
Yadav, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, 
have joined JDU's opposition, maintaining that the bill 
should include "a quota within a quota" for Other Backward 
Caste (OBC) and Muslim women.  PRS' Sanyal explained that the 
constitution must be amended in order for reservations for 
OBCs and Muslims to be incorporated into the bill, as 
political reservation based on caste and religion is not 
permitted by the constitution.  Reservation bill supporters 
allege that the JDU, SP, and RJD are calling for "a quota 
within a quota" to delay the passage for fear of losing their 
seats.  The UPA government has announced it will hold 
consultations with all political parties to address their 
concerns. 
 
Changing Cultural Norms: The Real Challenge 
--- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Despite this opposition, the UPA government appears 
confident that it can muster the necessary two-thirds 
majority for the bill's passage.  However, this is only one 
step toward empowering women in India.  Women's rights 
activists argue that the UPA government must attract and 
train effective female politicians, not merely fill seats. 
To do so, it must confront certain pitfalls, including 
security concerns, cultural norms, and socio-economic 
factors.  Many opponents of the bill predict without broad 
electoral reforms and comprehensive educational initiatives, 
India would encounter a problem common at the panchayat level 
where reservations already exist: women serving as proxies, 
propped up by fathers, brothers, and husbands who retain the 
true decision making powers.  Harsimrat Kaur Badal, an MP 
from Punjab and daughter-in-law of Punjab Chief Minister 
Parkash Singh Badal, told Poloffs that during her political 
career, she has met 500 purported women politicians who hold 
panchayat seats or other positions.  Badal opined that only 
two of these women were legitimate decision makers who 
engaged with their constituency, independent of male 
relatives. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Pardeep Kumar, a Youth Congress leader from Haryana, 
told Poloffs that the reality of putting forth more female 
candidates was more complex than simply setting aside seats. 
Most Indian families are reluctant to have their female 
relatives participate in politics because of the stigma 
attached to Indian politics, as well as the demanding late 
night meetings and irregular hours.  Kumar noted that the 
Congress Party lacks the resources to provide transportation 
to female political workers, especially in rural areas; 
consequently, they are less likely to participate in party 
activities.  As a student organizer, Kumar had to "beg" 
parents to allow their daughters to participate in political 
meetings and rallies.  Women from rural communities or lower 
castes cannot afford drivers or escorts to meetings and will 
not risk venturing out alone at night. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Kumar also touched upon a deeply-entrenched 
cultural obstacle to recruiting more female candidates -- 
many of the women who volunteer for politics are considered 
"loose women."  (Note.  The term loose in this context could 
have many meanings, ranging from a woman who is considered 
too western to a woman who actually has questionable morals. 
End note).  Although willing to donate their time and energy, 
these women do not appeal to the electorate because they do 
not reflect "the ideal Indian moral character."  This view 
has been echoed by JDU's Sharad Yadav, who has been quoted as 
saying "short haired women (Note - implying women in 
politics.  End note.) are no women at all." 
 
Prediction: Reduced Reservation 
---- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Meira Kumar, the first woman Speaker of the Lok 
Sabha, has expressed confidence in the UPA's ability to pass 
the bill during her tenure.  She told media outlets, "that a 
woman has been elected as Speaker is an indication that the 
 
NEW DELHI 00001319  003 OF 003 
 
 
women's bill could be passed in the 15th Lok Sabha."  Ranjana 
Kumari, India's most prominent women's rights lobbyist, 
predicted the Congress Party would water down the percentage 
of reserved seats from 33 percent to 20 percent and push the 
bill through Parliament during the winter session.  According 
to Kumari, "Mulayam (SP) has agreed, Lalu (RJD) will not 
fight, and Sharad (JDU) will be inconsequential."  She told 
Poloff that lobbyists would not accept the dilution and would 
continue to fight for a full 33 percent; however, Kumari 
believes even 20 percent "would be cause for jubilation." 
She maintained that the Congress Party is fully committed to 
the bill, and for more than purely altruistic reasons. 
Kumari commented that after receiving such a strong mandate 
from voters, Congress "must deliver something" and the 
Reservation Bill is an easily measurable deliverable. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Renuka Chowdhury, former Minister of Women and 
Child Development was less optimistic during a conversation 
with Poloff.  She divulged, "there is so much vested interest 
against the reservation bill...even at the cabinet level." 
Chowdhury alleged that Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister for 
Human Resource Development, has opposed women's empowerment 
initiatives in the past government (Note. According to the 
media, he has recently stated female literacy will be a 
priority for the UPA government.  End note.)  Despite the 
governments stronger mandate, Chowdhury believes the 
"Congress won't be able to push it through" in the end. 
 
Patil's Other Pledges 
---- 
 
¶13. (U) As part of its 100-day action plan, the UPA 
government has also pledged to introduce a bill which will 
set aside half the seats in elected village councils 
(panchayats) and city municipalities for women.  Presently, 
only a third of the seats in village councils are reserved 
for women.  Additionally, President Patil committed to 
reaching 100 percent literacy for women (the current literacy 
rate is approximately 54 percent) in the next five years 
through the National Literacy Mission, which the GOI will 
recast as the National Mission for Female Literacy.  The 
Ministry of Human Resource Development, under which the 
scheme falls, has yet to flesh out an implementation plan. 
Critics have pointed out that the funding for the literacy 
mission has not been increased since the government 
revitalized it in 1999.  President Patil also promised to 
increase the number of women working in central government 
jobs and to establish the National Mission on the Empowerment 
of Women to coordinate the implementation of welfare programs 
for women. 
 
Comment: The Long Haul 
--- 
 
¶14. (SBU) India has an impressive record of strong female 
politicians.  In fact, women currently lead the Congress 
Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, the Trinamool Congress Party, and 
the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham Party.  The 
years Indira Gandhi served as India's prime minister are 
well-known.  While it is heartening that the UPA government 
is leveraging its mandate to push through women's empowerment 
initiatives, its ability to fulfill the ambitious commitments 
outlined in Patil's speech remains in doubt.  The Reservation 
Bill faces formidable opposition, evidenced by the fact that 
the bill has lingered longer than any other piece of 
legislation in the Parliament's history.  If the UPA 
succeeds, it must supplement the quota with a plan to recruit 
qualified women that tackles practical concerns such as 
safety and financial security.  However, changing the general 
cultural and social  mindset regarding the role of Indian 
women will be a much longer process.  End Comment. 
BURLEIGH