Money-transfer schemes make women beneficiaries but undermine their rights: Brinda Karat

New Delhi, Dec 6 (PTI) The direct-benefit-transfer schemes for women that have been in focus for their impact on recent polls undermine women's rights by making them "beneficiaries", CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said on Friday.

Speaking at the national conference of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), Karat said the Left ideology and movements have had a prominent place in the history of women's movements in India.

She said qualitative changes have taken place in India's democratic institutions and structures because of the advent of a political party that represents political forces who do not accept the Constitution of the country.

"The role of the RSS in changing social equations, impacting the country, the Hindu Rashtra ideology and the Manuvadi thinking affect women the most. We have to work on this," the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader said.

With schemes that transfer money to the bank accounts of women being in focus for influencing the results of the recent Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly polls, Karat said while it is a result of women's movements that political parties in power are focusing on women, it is also their right and they are not just "beneficiaries".

"What are all these schemes that have started -- Rs 1,000-1,500 given to women to get their votes? I believe this is also a function of women's struggle for recognition that we can get the attention of all these ruling-class parties who want to buy our votes by giving what is actually our right and our due," she said.

"We cannot ignore this, women's movements have to take it seriously. What is the situation of a woman that Rs 1,000-1,500 can set aside our votes, politics, our rights?... We are only beneficiaries in the eyes of the government. This is our right, we are not beneficiaries," she added.

Karat also highlighted a recent survey conducted by the State Bank of India (SBI) that said the contribution of unpaid women to the economy is around Rs 22.7 lakh crore (rural: Rs 14.7 lakh crore and urban: Rs 8 lakh crore), which is almost 7.5 per cent of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"Making us beneficiaries instead of acknowledging our work is an effort to weaken our struggle," she said.

NFIW president Aruna Roy talked about the work done by the organisation over the last few years and expressed concern over democratic institutions being weakened under the government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"We are looking at an India in which democratic institutions created for oversight have been attacked. All commissions have become weak. They are passing laws that disempower people," Roy said.

She mentioned the NFIW's role during the COVID-19 pandemic, the migrant workers' crisis, the protests against the CAA and the NRC, fact-finding teams visiting Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir among other places, relief work in northeast Delhi post communal riots and efforts for justice in the Bilkis Bano case.

"Democratic freedoms are implicit in women's freedom. Women need democracy because without that we are nothing," Roy said.

NFIW general secretary Annie Raja read out a resolution passed by the organisation and said, "The Preamble to the Constitution declares India to be a socialist, secular republic. However, the present situation defies the spirit of our Constitution. The call for a socialist society is lost and the gap between the poor and the rich is widening on an unprecedented scale." "All efforts are being made to transform India into a fascist Hindu Rashtra. Communal divides, sectarian hatred and violence against Dalits, religious minorities, tribals and all marginalised groups have become the norm. Democracy is under attack," she said.

Raja said the NFIW had opposed the right-wing forces that sought to demolish the Babri mosque to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

"When the judgment was delivered, we pointed out at the injustice and warned of repercussions that we are witnessing today in the form of claims of finding temples underneath mosques," she added.

The three-day national conference of the NFIW started on Friday and will conclude on December 8. PTI AO RC