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‘Bill to pave way for more women to enter politics’

Sep 20, 2023 01:02 AM IST

“As a woman, I welcome the Bill. Rajiv Gandhi had raised his voice for women 25 years back. More women should enter politics, should be given equal representation, and thus help society,” Kashappanavar said

Bengaluru

Lucknow: Women celebrate after the introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill, in Lucknow on Tuesday. (PTI)
Lucknow: Women celebrate after the introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill, in Lucknow on Tuesday. (PTI)

Congress leader and former Bagalkote Zilla Panchayat President Veena Kashappanavar hailed the Women’s Reservation Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, and said it will pave the way for more women to enter politics.

“As a woman, I welcome the Bill. Rajiv Gandhi had raised his voice for women 25 years back. More women should enter politics, should be given equal representation, and thus help society,” Kashappanavar said.

Kashappanavar is a former Zilla Panchayat president from Bagalkote. She is also the first woman picked by any party as a 2019 Lok Sabha candidate in this constituency of Lingayat stronghold. Kashappanavar is expecting to contest again in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

“When I was the Zilla Panchayat president, I saw that several Gram Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat members’ whose husbands ruled by proxy. I had condemned this back in 2015-16 and gave more prominence to women representatives. It’s important to make women leaders to feel that they are capable of taking decisions and tackle issues,” Kashappanavar said.

Pointing out that women are capable of bringing in several changes and perspectives at the ground level, especially in villages, she said, “When I was the Zilla Panchayat President, we mainly focused on toilets, public health, malnutrition etc., which were not given much importance by the male counterparts.”

“From this platform, I got a chance to contest in the Parliamentary elections in 2019. I got 4,96,000 votes. People accepted me and my work. I’ve continued doing my work despite the loss. I might contest this time as well.”

Highlighting that there are limitations to reception towards seeing a woman leader on the ground, Kashappanavar said, “The kind of prominence given to men is not given to women in politics. A lot of women are insecure as a result. But we should stand strong and work with our ideology. We don’t have to wait for others to give us importance. Ultimately, it’s the people of the state who have helped me grow. So, we should be among them and interact with them irrespective of the challenges.”

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