As Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal takes oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third time, not a single woman MLA will swear in as the cabinet minister. On the eve of swearing-in ceremony, Delhi CM designate had hosted a dinner party for other cabinet members where women MLAs were conspicuously missing.
Atishi Marlena, the first time MLA who had also contested 2019 Lok Sabha elections from AAP ticket and lost to BJP’s Gautam Gambhir, will also not be part of the cabinet ministers swearing in today.
Netizens took to Twitter to question the newly elected Chief Minister about his doublespeak on women safety and women empowerment.
Dear @AamAadmiParty
You asked people to vote for you because you aim to make Delhi safer for women. Who is going to make policies for women? Where are women in your cabinet? Representation?Think about it. A bunch of powerful men running the show isn’t a great example to set.
— Shivani Bazaz (@shivanibazaz) February 15, 2020
People even questioned the lack of women representatives.
Where are the women representatives @ArvindKejriwal ? https://t.co/mt8QaOmGOi
— Faye DSouza (@fayedsouza) February 15, 2020
This despite the fact that surveys suggest that women had overwhelmingly voted for AAP in these election. A poll-survey carried out by Lokniti-CSDS for Indian Express, about 60% women voted for AAP.
In the landslide victory, AAP won 62 out of 70 seats in Delhi Assembly. 8 of these seats are won by women. AAP has claimed that Atishi Marlena has been instrumental in bringing a change in Delhi’s education policy over the years. However, even then, Marlena has not been included in the cabinet.
