Allegations against Revanna must be probed with uncompromising rigour.
The allegations of sexual abuse against Prajwal Revanna, the JD(S) candidate from the Lok Sabha constituency of Hassan, Karnataka, which went to polls on April 26, bring fresh urgency to a question that has long haunted politics: What makes it possible for political leaders to wield their clout like a weapon over the very people who have propelled them to power? Any attempt to answer this question in Revanna’s case — who has been accused of abusing several women, with videos of the assaults being widely circulated for at least a week — must also respond to the problem of the deeply masculinised nature of power in India, as it must in other cases that have come to light over the last few years, such as that of the former chief of Indian wrestling and BJP MP, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In a society that, despite the progress of the last seven decades, remains deeply patriarchal, where women — even as they carve out spaces to assert their autonomy and pursue their ambitions — continue to have their wings clipped by centuries-old strictures, is it possible to make the political “boys’ club” take this skewed power equation seriously?
Even as women voters are being more aggressively wooed by parties — women’s rising turnout, in fact, is seen as decisive factor in poll results — they remain poorly represented not only among elected representatives, but also in leadership roles at the party level. While women have had one-third reservation in panchayats and local urban bodies since the early 1990s, representation in Parliament has been woefully poor — less than 15 per cent in the current one — as well as state assemblies. This has been sought to be corrected by the passing of the women’s reservation bill in a special session of Parliament last year. However, the fact is that long-lasting change requires not just the top-down implementation of a law. If democracy is to be deepened, if women are to be ensured not only of power but also of justice and equity, there needs to be transformation at every level. This would require a commitment from all parties to involve more women in decision-making, greater parity in ticket distribution and allowing more women leaders to emerge. It would also require stronger action against all forms of gendered abuse.
That’s why the allegations against Revanna must be probed with uncompromising rigour. It’s time that women’s dignity and autonomy – not just welfare schemes that view women primarily as beneficiaries of state largesse – get the attention they need. Campaign politics isn’t a natural ally of due process but in this case, the state government needs to probe all aspects of the allegations: the alleged victims, the accused, the network of the accused, the apparent immunity and impunity. As the irreversible force of women’s empowerment pushes against the wall of male privilege, ensuring that more women are in the public sphere, where they have as much at stake as their male counterparts, they need to be assured that the law shall follow their course.
