Only in India

Unlike the funny forwards which you get in your inbox every now and then, displaying awkward photos from India. This one is so serious. Officially, India now has its All-Female Political Party!Yeah, I read it in the news this morning and was as surprised as you are. Finally, a political party whose members are only women. You can read all about it here and here.

The new political party is called "United Women Front"(UWF), and its leaders advocate equal rights for women in a country which has the second highest population in the world, 50% of which are females. They aim to provide a "clean" (word used by the UWF president) alternative to Indian male-dominated political parties. "Unlike other parties, we will not buy freebies and alcohol for voters," says United Women Front president Suman Krishan Kant.

I wish them best luck in their mission. However, thinking about going down that road freaks me out. We certainly need to have more female political power in Egypt. Members of the UMF complain that women in the Indian parliament are only 8.8% According to this, we should really be ashamed of our 2.9%. But the thing remains that allowing different groups to adopt seperate political agendas is not the best way to fix problems. It's a huge mistake. If women can have their own political party, then we can't deprive the Muslim Brotherhood from having their own, for instance. We will be creating fractures according to gender, race (Nubians and Beduins will rush to that too), and religion. The spirit and essence of equality would be lost forever. We'll be creating a new and more complex web of hierarchies.

It's not only about the number of women participating in political decision making, it is most importantly a question of effeciency. If women are merely used inside the parliament and ministries as decoration, then more decoration will just add more shame. Because those women who would be supposedly "in power" would draw a negative example of female ability for action. So, yes, I dream of the day when women would occupy 50% of the parliament seats, a true percentage that would then reflect their active participation in all aspects of life. But I wouldn't like it to be through a political conflict.

There should be more active women organization. Their work should be felt. They should reach out for all women, all ages, all standards. We don't need any more decoration. We don't need any more sweet talk about the status of women and how they are honored. We don't need Mothers' Day when workplaces don't offer a daycare service for the children of their female employees. We don't need the roses in Valentine, when we are throne with spears from men staring at us and harassing us in the streets. We want to be respected as we deserve to be. Political parties can't buy us that.

Power, Politics, and Gender

Injustice is a cosmic plague. Countries can be imperialistic and oppressive while others are weak and helpless. Dictators abuse their powers within their countries. And likewise men and women fit into this cycle. You can not tell which leads to the other: Is it the weakness of the weak which tempts the powerful to take advantage? Or the absolute power in the hands of the powerful which causes others to submit in fear?

Whether it is this or that, democratic countries have invented a system which helps in the prevention of power abuse. They have constructed systems which would enable the public to supervise the performance of their rulers and give them the power to share in decision making. They also invented something called "voting", to guarantee that whoever comes to power has the approval of the public.

However, this did not stop dictators from having their way inside their countries. Their elections are rigged. Their parliament is mere décor. Their media is under control. Their laws enable them to do the most horrible crimes legally. Thus, the public in those countries are in such a vulnerable position that they don't even know their rights to ask for them.

Powerful countries do the same with developing and under-developed countries. They dictate their demands, and even enforce them when necessary. They use the weakness and poverty of those countries for their own benefits. They don't bother with big words like "human rights", "equality", "justice", "world peace", …etc. As long as sabotaging those weaker countries secures their superior state, they will stop at nothing to reach their goals. They have the UN under their power. The have the veto. They can even break international resolutions, like the US did in its war on Iraq. Who can do anything about it? To hell with the international community, do they have any power to stop me?

People, like countries, can get drunk with power. We live in a sexist society, where men resemble Israel and women resemble Arabs. Every day Israel takes more lands from Arabs. It can kill them and bomb their homes at any time. Then those Arabs will simply yell and scream, jump up and down, but what can they do about it? They will go to the Security Council? So what? The former Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin , once said it: "As long as the Arabs haven't learned to stand in a line, they don't pose any threat to us". Meaning that Arabs will never see the true reasons behind their weakness. They can't see that they're weak cause they don't work on improving themselves. They are just begging for justice from other powerful countries. They worship their leaders although they humiliate them. They don't value time or hard work. They are far from scientific thinking and organized action. Such people can wait thousands of years for a miracle to liberate them, but they don't even deserve this miracle.

Women likewise will never receive liberation from their oppressors who thrive upon all the advantages they derive from their superior position. As long as they have got all the power in their hands they will never give any of it up, but will always seek to gain more. Unless women stand up on their feet, define their weaknesses and work on improving their condition, they will never gain any of their rights. Begging for our rights won't lead us anywhere. Only slaves liberated slaves, and only women can liberate women. No one can feel your pain except a woman like you. But the endless waiting for a miracle.. waiting for men to change.. waiting for society to change.. waiting for an upper hand all the time.. waiting, waiting, waiting, will only make us weaker and cause us to lose the respect of society. Are you happy with being the doll you are? If no, then get up and do something about it. Wake up women!.. It's too late already!