The 'Women's Wall' pledge drafted by the government to be read out aloud by participants may perhaps make one nostalgic for the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Like in the old USSR, where it was mandatory for citizens to formally utter praises of the ruling Communist party, supporters of the 'Women's Wall' have now been asked to laud the CPM-led government. Here goes one of the lines in the pledge: "It's with great respect that we regard the Kerala government that had backed the event." Very Soviet Russian. Very Chinese.
Women vs Women
Nonetheless, despite the dictatorial tone, the 'Women's Wall' had to be erected. It was do or die for the Left. The wrath of faith was a mighty surprise. Women poured out into the streets in amazing numbers, in what looked like an impromptu revolt, against the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to enter Sabarimala. Only an opposing swarm of 'sunburnt' women could have resisted this surge of 'incense-perfumed' women. Thus, the 'Women's Wall'.
Politics of the absurd
What has emerged is a battle of preposterous extremes. The Sangh Parivar forces, milking the fear of the faithful to the hilt, made it seem as if the Hindu faith was in danger of extinction, as if the CPM-led government was out to destroy not just Sabarimala but all that was dear to the Hindus. This was disproportionate, almost as exaggerated as the fear the CPM once attempted to whip up against computers. The order to lift the ban was given by the Supreme Court, and not Pinarayi Vijayan.
The Left counter was equally far-fetched. They packaged the women's entry into Sabarimala as a renaissance aspiration as revolutionary as the temple entry of lower castes. In Kerala, which NITI Aayog recently said was the place where gender equations were the most heart-warming in the country, the Sabarimala ban on women was never an issue of female empowerment. The stricture was nothing more than a unique religious practice. Before the Supreme Court verdict on September 28, the state had never given it as much thought as even singer Yesudas's entry into Guruvayur.
Cracks in the wall
Now, by giving it the aura of renaissance, the LDF government has made it look as if the ban on women in Sabarimala is the most appalling violation of women's rights. What about sexual harassment of women in workplace? (The three-member commission that was formed to look into the complaints raised by the Women in Cinema Collective has still not begun functioning.) What about gender discrimination at work? What about the still prevalent patriarchal evil of dowry?
Other things, too, made the LDF's design suspect. The men Pinarayi Vijayan has befriended to erect the wall, mainly SNDP's Vellappally Natesan and Hindu Parliament's C P Sugathan, had as much respect for renaissance values as the men in Association of Malayalam Movie Artists had for their women. Many noted feminists were repulsed by their presence. There are even sharper inconsistencies. It has been widely reported that women government servants, MGNREGA and Kudumbashree workers have been coerced into taking part in the 'Wall'. So much for women liberty.
However, despite the infuriating contradictions, the 'Wall' would be made on New Year's Day. At least 30 lakh women, forced or otherwise, will stand side by side to form a 620-km wall along the west side of the national highway from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram between 4 pm and 4.15 pm.
'Jyothi' and the 'Wall'
This wall of women will be different from another 'wall' created by the Sangh Parivar, the 'Ayyappa Jyothi' on December 26. The 'Jyothi' was all about Sabarimala, it essentially wanted the flame of the faithful's anger to keep burning. The 'Wall', on the other hand, will be an attempt to take the issue away from Sabarimala.
The 'Women's Wall' could mark the beginning of a more open and liberal discussion on women's issues. The thought process that the 'Wall' will set in motion will hopefully go on to acquire a social life quite independent of what happens in Sabarimala. Already, it is as if the 'Women's Wall' is not about Sabarimala at all. It is the various strains of renaissance movements in the state – Channar revolt, Kallumala Samaram, widow remarriage, and property rights for women - dominate the political orchestra around the 'Women's Wall'.
Ultimate irony
Though a very pleasing development, this decision to keep Sabarimala mute came about more as a result of sly than progressive thinking. The LDF wanted Vellappally Natesan to feel comfortable. The SNDP supremo who is the chairman of the 'Women's Wall' organising committee is, ironically, against the entry of women into Sabarimala.
