By Phrangsngi Pyrtuh
The buzz word of the new ruling dispensation is women’s empowerment. The CM has played his cards well and has become the flavor of the (political) season. It is necessary to show that he means business and what more than upgrading almost all the elected women legislators, save one very close to his heart, to head important departments. He realizes the rough and tumble of politics would be too much to bear for a novice and spared his other half of shouldering the responsibility of a minister at least for some time since the CM has already hinted of a rotational cabinet shift to pep things up and the last of the woman legislator may be absorbed sooner than expected. It really depends on the political game at stake. The State has a distinct record of having the first female representative Kong Mavis Dunn Lyngdoh in undivided India to become a minister during the British days. She was also the first Khasi woman to drive a car. Taken with a pinch of salt an outsider may think that Meghalaya would have produced countless female representatives by now. Well lo and behold the recent assembly election has set a record when four woman candidates were elected. Somewhere down the line the cord went missing and Meghalaya became exclusively patriarchal at least at the political level. The total number of woman elected so far is abysmal to say the least considering the matriarchal setup of the system. So what you say we are better than Nagaland where not a single female Naga has ever been chosen as a representative. I rest my case as far as this is concerned.
The matriarchal system which most of us cherish ( and some hate) is really a heaven’s gift. This hunky- dory system is lavishly praised as being equitable and fair and what have you. The intricacies of the system are too complex for a detailed analysis but suffice to say that there are as many views as there are experts, intellectuals and so called guardians of the system. Leaving everything aside such as increasing domestic violence it is important to study whether the recent assembly elections is a precursor to a changing mindset towards woman as leaders of the society. For far too long various policy making bodie and commission/committees have been majorly constituted with all male members even on such issues which are female centric such as inheritance- the backbone of the matriarchal system. Save for the state women’s commission which still remains controversial over the manner and modalities in which it was constituted there is hardly any female representation on important decision making. Women’s activism is something new in Meghalaya and the patriarch-dominated government would like to clip its wing whenever the opportunities arises. The old adage of impending doom and end of the world if the hens crow is a well versed patriarchal set up to ensure the subjugation of the Khasi woman to perpetual sub-domination. This perverted philosophy should have no place in a matriarchal system and yet it has effectively prevented the Khasi woman from taking a pro-active role on various issues and ipso facto discourage women to come up-front and take a keen interest in the politics of the state.
Women’s activism is relatively new to the Khasi society and one must comment and support the various women’s groups that are raking up issues that are not exclusively confined to women. The state machinery is rattled of course and has tried to crippled the women’s movement through devious ways even force sometimes (remember the water cannons some years back?). The male dominated government machinery thinks it is better to deal with a male dominated pressure group (over cups of drinks and other male pleasures) than deal with women. This explains why our male-only exclusive pressure groups have failed us umpteen times (pun intended). Well with a woman it is difficult to mix pleasure with business and they sure drive a hard bargain.
Along this trajectory there have been the high and lows. I would always remember how a group of woman from different organizations staged a silent protest during the unveiling of the State Woman’s Commission interrupting the well versed and prepared speech of the then CM Dr D.D Lapang. Any study on woman’s activism should highlight this event of silent protest led by our mothers and daughters as a breakthrough in the woman’s active participation in public space. The low in this success story is of course the re-election of Kong Ampareen Lyngdoh to the august house. A circulating story is that it doesn’t matter if we elect him or her because the woman is as easily tempted to corruption as any her colleagues. In fact it is competent to choose a male candidate because at least they are prudent enough to hide the dirt of graft under the carpet which apparently the woman (Kong Ampareen) failed to do. So it doesn’t make any difference. This may have served a blow to the fragile woman’s participation in the state and would not do much to change the mindset of the people towards ‘more elected female representatives’. Our CM is smart though- to divert the attention of the tainted Ampareen’s induction in the cabinet he has elevated the elegant Kong Roshan Warjri as the first Home Minister of the State. So much for women’s empowerment! There is always a give and take when an institution run along patriarchal lines is at the helm of affairs. Well no matter the opinion, the people of the state spoken. Or have they? It would be really interesting to see how much independence the Meghalayan woman has in choosing her candidate? If her vote is influenced by her father or husband then we seriously need to consider if we are a matriarchal society at all?