The debate has been going on for weeks now on the participation of women in politics. Yet the question which inevitably springs to our minds is the reason for this sudden change.

Most Mauritians have probably guessed it. It?s mere poli-tical strategy used by our politicians in an electoral campaign which, some claim, has not started yet but rather will begin after the departure of Shri Manmohan Singh on 2nd April. To come back to women?s representation in the National Assembly, which in a sense is the cold war campaign our politicians are engaged in for the time being, let?s ask them to stop using women as an object of strategy to attain power. History and even great epics like the Mahabharata have taught that using women in the lust for power brings only destruction and defeat to men.

No doubt women should join politics, in fact most of them can far outweigh some of our present male politicians in many aspects ranging from honesty, patriotism, professionalism and competence, just to mention a few. But the question is : do we vote for any women just to minimize the gender gap or do we vote for competent individuals who might be either men or women? And, to have more women in Parliament, the most efficient ones should be encouraged to go to the polls. However it?s rather disappointing to see that most of the time the true professionals simply abstain from doing politics. What?s the reason for this? Is it the famous saying that ?politics is dirty??

Well, most of the time it is the beliefs, the unstated implications and the lack of valorisation for the ladies who are in the field. It?s astonishing to hear how certain highly educated men in strategic positions still believe in their very macho way that ladies are meant to stay at home and cook food!

So, instead of engaging in strategies like the best loser system where women have to lose to be in Parliament, which debases women instead of uplifting their inherent capacities, the authorities, socio-cultural organisations and media actors should aim at an intensive campaign for a revalorisation of women in politics. This should hopefully encourage the right lady candidates to the polls.

It?s high time to change mentalities and negative attitudes towards our present and prospective lady politicians and give them full respect and admiration. India, the largest democracy, and, as a matter of fact, the land of orthodoxy where women are often given the second position, has so far elected prominent and great ladies like Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Are our fellow citizens ready to give the same respect and splendour to our lady politicians? Who is to be blamed for hostility towards women joining politics? Is it religion, culture or simply the fear that men might be overridden in all aspects by women? The world has changed and it?s high time to realize that, far from being on a competitive platform, man and woman are not substitutes but simply complement each other.

<B>by Arity</B>