Cong’s Sanitary Napkin Offering: How Parties Woo Women Voters

Political parties in India have been increasingly trying to pursue the women voters.

In an attempt to reach out to the female vote bank of the upcoming Gujarat polls, the Congress on Wednesday stated that if voted to power, they would provide free sanitary napkins to all girl students across schools and colleges in Gujarat.

Sushmita Dev, President of the All India Mahila Congress, told The Quint that as part of its manifesto, the party was aiming to ‘empower’ its female vote bank, by making them ‘enablers’ and helping them discover their own identities.

The thing is Gujarat is a male-dominated society, even though the women are progressive. They have no social status, and hence have an identity crisis.

Sushmita Dev

The Congress’ strategy to centre their manifesto around ‘empowering women’, which also happens to be a substantial vote bank, is one that has been employed by different political parties for some time now.

If the past Assembly polls, such as the ones in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and others, are any indication, contesting parties have made a conscious attempt to implement several clauses in their manifestos around women empowerment in a bid to woo the women voters.

But the question is, is it a strategy which will truly bring about a welcome change in the status and lives of women in India, or is yet another political gimmick, applicable only till the seat has been won?

Upcoming Gujarat Polls

According to Firstpost, Gujarat has a population of over six crore, out of which almost 48 percent comprise women voters. It is thus a prudent move for political parties to target this significant vote bank.

For instance, menstrual hygiene, Sushmita Dev says, is an important issue which connects with several larger ones – literacy and education development, as well a rise in their social status, for starters.

According to a study by UNICEF, only about 16 percent of girls in India use sanitary napkins. The same study stated that while 75 percent of the girls use cotton cloths during their period, 27 percent of the girls in schools do not use any material at all and 28 percent of the students in India do not go to school during their period. In the longer run, adds Dev, this entails them to drop out of schools and colleges and keeps them far from joining the mainstream work-force.

Priyanka Chaturvedi, the National Spokesperson of the Congress, told The Quint that the party is not looking at female voters as “voting tools”.

We want to offer them a change for the better, which will help them raise their voices and strive towards better health, hygiene, higher education and self-confidence.

Priyanka Chaturvedi

Uttar Pradesh Elections

According to Economic Times, about 63.26 percent of female voters in the country’s most populous state cast their votes in the seven-phase Assembly election that took place earlier this year. Recognising the fact that the female voter ratio was likely to outnumber its male counterpart, the then various contesting political parties had each released their respective manifestos which included clauses they believed would attract women.

The Congress, reported Firstpost, had attempted to outdo its rival BJP by promising benefits to women that included 50 percent reservation, distribution of cycles to girl students and opening of three women police stations in every district.

The BJP, in turn, had promised the presence of anti-Romeo squads which would ostensibly help girls get rid of eve-teasing, reports Economic Times. The report added that the Samajwadi Party too had offered free bicycles for school-going girls, as well as a dedicated helpline and rebate in the public transport for women in the state.

Bihar Elections

The Bihar Legislative Assembly Election of 2015 proves an excellent example of how a party strategically targeted its female vote bank by offering them benefits that their chief ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar was known to have delivered in the past. An Economic Times report stated that in 2015, women made up 46 percent of Bihar’s electorate.

According to another report by Economic Times, in 2015, 54.20 percent of men and 60.40 percent of women had voted in Bihar, a ratio which reportedly “sealed the fate of 55 constituencies in Bihar”. 

It says that Kumar had ensured 50 percent reservation for women in panchayat bodies, and had further promised them 35 percent reservation in government jobs.

In the party’s manifesto, he also referred to the ‘Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana’, under which around 4 million bicycles were to be given to schoolgirls.

Additionally, he also said that the party would sanction funds for sanitary napkins, ensure 35 percent reservation for them in state police and said it would provide free plots to Mahadalit families, which would be registered in the names of the women of the family. He also heard their plea for the prohibition of alcohol and promised them that if voted to power, his party would implement it.

The BJP, in turn, had promised 33 percent of reservation for women and facilities to develop a positive mind-set of families towards the girl-child, improve upon the prevailing system of education and implement policies for women healthcare, amidst several others, as per the party’s official document.

Himachal Pradesh Elections

According to the BJP’s official manifesto regarding the upcoming Himachal Pradesh polls, the party has promised to launch the ‘Gudiya Helpline’ under the ‘Gudiya Yojna’ for women’s safety in the state. Along the same lines, it has pledged to open up several ‘female police stations’ and invest in the creation of a safety app for women.

As reported by Millenium Post, on the last day of the election campaign, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also assured a 33 percent reservation for women in the police force.

While the Congress’ manifesto spoke about a few policies it wished to undertake in order to provide benefits for the women of Himachal Pradesh, such as opening of hostels for working women, its theme centred more on wooing the farmers and students, reports The Hindu.

Elections in Assam and Punjab

States like Assam, Punjab, Goa and Manipur also witnessed a greater percentage of female voters as compared to their male counterparts.

As reported by The Wire, the BJP in Assam had promised women “50% reservation for women in the Panchayati Raj institutions and urban legislative bodies; 35% reservation for women in all state government services; and women police stations to be constituted in every district”. The Congress too had promised loan waivers to women self-help groups as well as a 50 percent reservation for them in state government jobs.

As reported by Hindustan Times, the BJP’s manifesto for Punjab included free education from primary school to PhD for girls belonging to economically weaker sections of society. The Congress Manifesto for Punjab polls, reports Firstpost, included a 33 percent reservation for women in government jobs, skill development for widows and free education for children of farmers who have committed suicide. It also pledged for the free education of girls from class one to PhD and to set up crisis centres across the state for women subjected to abuse.

While parties have been wooing the rising percentage of female voters in time for the respective elections, one has to wonder to what extent the winning governments have, or plan to deliver on their promises.