Even if all past and present politicians have recognized the contribution of women in various spheres of the Mauritian society, yet according to research carried out, women?s presence represent only 17% of the Mauritian media and make up only 4% of the Cabinet and 6% of Parliament. The President of Media Watch, Loga Virahsawmy, relates the role played by women in last December by-election.

The December 2003 by-election was a golden opportunity for all political parties to give women a chance and try and redress the harm being done to women through political oppression. But leaders of political parties decided to select only men as candidates. One lady, Dulari Jugnarain, dared to set foot in a male-dominated terrain. She stood as an independent candidate. ?I want to be the Chief of the warriors?, she said. ?I want to create my own political party.?

The roaring tigers of the two major political alliances covered her voice. The army the two giants had behind them compared to what Jugnarain had was mammoth. She knew she was in for trouble but she strived until the end. She changed tactics and took her pilgrim stick to knock at all possible doors. Not belonging to any party also meant not getting any financial help. She knew she had no chance of winning let alone coming close to the giants but she fought until the last day of the election. It does not matter if she got only 23 votes out of a total of 32,072. What matters is that she had the courage of her convictions. She is indeed a role model for women as far as determination is concerned.

Interestingly enough, al-though the two major alliances of the country ? government and opposition ? did not choose female candidates, nobody can question the role played by women. ?Their contribution has been tremendous?, the Secretary-General of the Labour party, Dr Vasant Bunwaree said. ?Women worked a lot for this election. I have been working with grassroots women and they were the real leaders. They had this incredible capacity of mobilizing people of the region?, said Alan Ganoo, Minister of Public Utilities. Dr Bunwaree and Alan Ganoo may sit on the opposite sides of the House and may disagree on many issues but on one issue they at least agree: ?Women have done a terrific job in the December by-election.? They had nothing but praise for women.

Two male candidates for the two major alliances and yet the monument of strength behind them were women. ?The office of the Secretary-General gave the women broad parameters and guidelines but they took their own decisions and made their own choices. We believed in them and gave them carte blanche and we are proud to say that they honoured the trust placed in them and delivered the goods,? the Secretary-General of the Labour party said. ?As this was a by-election we could manoeuvre with new electoral techniques and one of them was the merger of rural and urban women in all polling stations. It worked marvellously well and women did wonders. The result of this collaborative partnership is our landslide victory.?

Women in the Labour Party were very creative for this by-election. ?During our Women?s Congress we put on a sketch with professionals from the Triveni Kalamandir of Triolet. The 600 women in the audience got so involved in play that they thought what was happening on stage was their own life. They expressed themselves very strongly on gender violence and some of them even threw their ?savates? at the actors. No harm was done but the outcome was terrific. The sketch turned out to be a participative one with the audience,? said Kalyanee Juggoo-Virahsawmy, coordinator for the 17 polling stations of Piton-Riviere-du-Rempart.

Veteran politician and former Minister of Women?s Rights, Sheila Bappoo said: ?I have been in politics for a very long time and Minister for 13 years but this is the first time I have heard that women have been putting posters on walls. These are the real activists.? Both the party in power and opposition party had men and women working together. ?We had a lot to learn from men as they have been in politics much longer than us. They have been trained and we were prepared to be trained to get the know-how. We gained a lot from this transfer of knowledge and skills. Not only as activists but if ever we have to stand as candidates?, said Gina Poonoosamy who fought tooth and nail for the party in power. ?I have no regrets. We have lost but what I have acquired will never be lost. Now I realize how much we have to learn from the village. Women are generous, kind, honest and frank. They have the capacity of sharing that I have never seen anywhere else. I stayed with a family in Gokoola for a week and I was treated as one of theirs.?

Contrary to Kalyanee Juggoo-Virahsawmy, Gina Poonoosamy regrets that she does not speak any bhoj -puri. ?This would definitely have helped?, she said. ?Of course it helps?, said Kalyanee Juggoo-Virahsawmy. ?So many barriers can be pulled down when you understand and talk the language of the people. For them I was hamar laika, hamar beti (our child, our daughter). Language is a unifying factor and brings harmony. Even the Creoles, Tamils, Telegus or Muslims of this region speak Bhojpuri.? Nevertheless Gina Poonoosamy is very proud of her baptism of fire in politics. The region she was assigned to work got the highest percentage of votes.

?Women are not only well organized, they have this facility to integrate that men find difficult sometimes. By the time we were knocking at doors to ask people to let us in, the women were already inside the house. They have this capacity of making themselves accepted. They went through the back door while we were still negotiating. There was a terrific symbiosis between the women in the region and the activists,? Dr Bunwaree said. ?Women started their campaigning very early in the morning while men did theirs late in the evening,? said Kalyanee Juggoo-Virahsawmy. ?We have a different approach. Women talk differently, women can hug and kiss. We share food and eat together. There are so many things that come out naturally in a woman. We are capable of sharing warmth, emotions, sadness and happiness and this to our advantage.?

According to Kalyanee Juggoo-Virahsawmy, village women have changed a lot. They make their own choices; they take decisions and are prepared to face the consequences. They are very determined and even their sons and husbands who used to control them can no longer do so. ?I remember a boy who was stopping his mother from accompanying us when we did our march to put up posters. The lady was preparing dough for faratas and her hands were full of flour. She wanted to come with us and her son was preventing her. She left her bowl on the table, draped on a sari and said: O.K chor de (don?t bother about him). Chalo chachi (let?s go aunty.). More and more women joined us while we were walking. They were carrying pots of glue and posters. It was not only a peaceful march but also quite an experience. This was the first time that women not only went public but glued posters in broad daylight. The whole village witnessed this ground-breaking event. A 60-year-old woman who did not want to be left out said: Beta lafis deta ritik roshan ke lafisoi deta (give me the poster of the actor I want to put it up myself). We chose the hottest area of the region and yet our opponents showed lots of respect towards us. More and more women all along joined us and we sang: We shall overcome. Age did not matter. Ethnicity did not matter. Culture did not matter. What mattered was that we were working for the same cause. We chanted Mauritius desh ki beti haton mein janda lekhe bolo !! (Women of Mauritius raise your flags high). They are the leaders of tomorrow. Women are responsible. Botan, movetan we keep up our commitments lakh toofan ho, ham na ghabraeing, tou na ateingi milne to ham ayeinge. (Inspite of heavy cyclone, I shall not worry, you cannot come to me but I shall come to you) is my motto?, Kalyanee Juggoo-Virahsawmy added.

Women were behind the giants but will they be able to stand as candidates in the 2005 general elections? Will Mauritius reach the target of 30% by 2005 as pledged by the Mauritian Government in the SADC Declaration let alone the 50% pledged in the 2015 Millennium Goals? Gina Poonoosamy would love to see that while Kalyanee Juggoo-Virahsawmy believes that this is no longer a dream. ?We have lots of confidence in women. The will is here but contrary to other SADC countries women face many constraints in this country. However, women unfortunately very often due to cultural and societal pressures, refuse to stand as candidates. I will certainly work for women with the same zeal as they have worked for men,? said Secretary-General, Dr Vasant Bunwaree.

Juggoo-Virahsawmy believes that women in Piton-Riviere du-Rempart are role models for Mauritian women. ?Women did not ask for money, cigarettes or rhum. While male agents were changing sides for pecuniary advantages, women were giving us tea and freshly fried

bhajia. We saw that even in Panchhavati where people are very poor. Some of them did not have chairs in their houses and yet they stayed by their ethical standards and did not ask for money. Children cannot go to school because parents cannot pay bus fares or give them shoes. In Plaine-des-Papayes, we had to bend our heads to enter into the corrugated iron one-roomed house with no toilet and bathroom, toilet facilities were four pieces of iron sheet, and yet we were offered a smile. Expensive infrastructures do not fill the stomachs. These people know that they are wretched poor and yet they did not betray us. They did not ask for anything in return for votes. Nelson Mandela rightly said that it is virtually important that all the structure of Government, including the President, should understand that freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression. Nobody can understand the problems of the vulnerable better than politicians,? Kalyanee Juggoo-Virahsawmy added. Women can no longer be excluded. Mauritius can only claim to be a democratic country when there will be no sticky floors and glass ceilings for women.

For many Mauritians, the Piton-Rivière-du-Rempart by-election was an eye-opener. Women are emancipated as far as campaigning is concerned. They have the courage of their convictions and contre vents et marées went into the deep water to fight for their respective candidates. Women voters in this election were over 50%.

When the Prime Minister announced his cabinet reshuffle soon after the results of the election, women thought he would try to redress the situation by nominating another woman as minister. But, instead, ethnic statistics won over reason. Arianne Navarre-Marie, Minister of Women?s Rights, Family Welfare and Child Development, will remain the only woman in cabinet for another long year unless our politicians decide for early general elections. But as Gina Poonoosamy puts it:?We have shown them that we are capable of, it is for them to decide whether they want us or not. But I am prepared to stand as a candidate if my party gives me a ticket.? Will these hardworking activists get tickets for the general elections? The year 2005 will tell.

Loga Virahsawmy President, Media Watch, Mauritius