The other day I watched a group of women before a meeting, planning the events. It was strategic. It was, if you ask me, better organised and dramatically executed than most cabinet meetings.
And as I stood there, pretending to check my phone while actually listening with great national interest, I wondered why on earth we think women need “reservation” to prove their worth.
Now before you raise your eyebrows and stop listening to me, hear me out.
Reservation, in its purest form, is meant to uplift those who have been denied opportunity. It is a crutch for the disadvantaged. But when you offer that same crutch to someone who has the ability to run faster, think sharper, and manage three crises’ while we men manage one, it begins to look less like support and more like our ruling party’s polite insult.
It is like telling a marathon runner, “Here, take this walking stick, you might need it.”
Women today are not waiting at the starting line. They are already halfway down the track, dragging along families, careers, and sometimes husbands who are still looking for their socks.
In my own home, I have noticed something rather interesting. When something goes wrong, we call it a “problem.” When my wife handles it, it becomes part of a new system.
Electricity bill unpaid? She has a system.
Guests arriving unannounced? She has a system.
Me forgetting her birthday or our wedding anniversary? Well, for that she has something far more powerful than a system.
Today, we stand in Parliament and say, “Let us reserve seats for women.” This, when I have seen better speeches from lady members than the jeers, sneers and insults that the men give.
Hey Parliamentarians, why not instead remove the invisible barriers that we men have formed that stop capable women from entering politics in the first place?
Why not ensure safety, equal opportunity, and fair representation based on merit rather than mathematics?
Why not stop projecting to our women that they are weak and immature, by passing ‘love-jihad’ and other laws?
Because let us be honest. The moment you reserve a seat you also plant a doubt. Was she chosen because she is capable, or because she fits the category?
That question quietly undermines the very women we claim to empower.
I have seen women lead schools, companies, hospitals, and yes, even countries with a firmness that would make seasoned politicians sit up and take notes. They do not need a reserved chair. They need the chair to stop being reserved for the wrong people.
True empowerment is not about giving space. It is about removing the walls.
If a woman walks into Parliament, let it be because she knocked the door down, not because someone politely held it open.
Because the day we stop reserving seats for women in Parliament, in buses or elsewhere, will be the day we truly respect them…!