Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal today announced free money to women in Gujarat should his party be elected to power. Now, who doesn’t like free money? I wish I had free money and I could travel the world, have a house on the hills where I spend my day playing with five dogs and not get depressed looking at the state of Indian politics. But just as my wish is utopian, Kejriwal’s ‘free money’ scheme is also the same.
Arvind Kejriwal today announced Rs 1,000 to every woman in Gujarat should AAP be elected to power.
This money, in absence of terms and conditions announced, one would assume is for all women in Gujarat. As per 2011 census, there are about 2,89,48,432 women in the state. A decade later, this figure would have only increased. As per some estimates, female population in Gujarat in 2021/2022 would stand at about 3.4 crore. Now, going by the statistics, 3.4 crore women (Kejriwal has not specified only adult women or all women in Gujarat) getting Rs 1,000 per month – 3,400 crore every month. Every year this would be Rs 40,800 crore. This is just one year. Where will this money come from? Will Kejriwal grow it at a place where sun doesn’t shine?
(Note: Some media reports have suggested the free money scheme is for women above age of 18. However, this article and above calculation is based on the video tweeted by AAP Gujarat handle which does not specify age of women for free money. If one wishes, one could adjust calculations, but larger point is free money makes no economic sense.)
To put things in perspective, Kejriwal had made exact same promises to every adult woman in Punjab ahead of elections and it has been six months and the women there have not started getting their free money yet. So, not only is the promise flawed but also not fulfilled. Why is Kejriwal then making promises he has not even fulfilled in one state his party is in power? Is it because of financial burden? If yes, why is he repeating the same promise when he knows it will not be fulfilled.
Then Kejriwal says how the free money that he will give to women, women will go to market and buy vegetables. Because that is the only thing women in India do, right? Because women’s place is in the kitchen.
And even if they do, because realistically speaking, India, like a lot of countries in the world, has a long way to go in terms of fighting patriarchy, why is he perpetuating patriarchy? His ‘buy vegetables’ thing only shows how he thinks women are in control of men. That women should live their lives as men dictate them.
Instead of ‘free money’ to buy vegetables, why not tell us how he would control inflation so that vegetables are more affordable to poor? Instead of free education, why not set up schemes for subsidies where those who need it can avail benefits. Why burden a taxpayer because you want some votes? Instead of promising to give Rs 12,000 every year to EVERY woman (which we have seen is not going to happen) why not give scholarship of that amount to those girls who are not able to study further because of financial restraints?
Why not promise employment opportunities, self help groups, skilled workforce, seed capital to start their own businesses? How is ‘free money’ better than opportunity to create wealth and further employment opportunities? If the girl earns her own money, she will not need your free money to ‘buy vegetables’.
Smashing the patriarchy
The ‘free money’ to women scheme plays right into the patriarchal society women like you and I are trying to fight each and every day. Right from equal pay to right to equal job opportunities. You know how absolutely normalised it is for women to be asked ‘are you married?’ and ‘do you have children/plan to have children?’ during job interviews? Because those things are considered before hiring women.
Men, on the other hand, don’t usually get this question. It is just assumed that even if he does get married, or have children, his efficiency wont get affected. Women, on the other hand, will prioritise children and home and hence are kept away from the top management.
During the election campaigning in Punjab, Kejriwal went on an auto ride and then went for dinner at the ‘auto driver’s home’ because the auto driver out of his whim decided to change routes. Though eventually it turned out that the said auto driver was an AAP worker, the fact that Kejriwal and his gang can be safe when the auto driver or anyone for that matter takes a detour and not get into absolute panic mode is male privilege.
When I take cabs after dark, I share my ride status with at least one trusted contact. I have seen people take naps in long metro rides. A woman, in her wildest dream, would not consider taking a nap in a metro because there are high chance of her getting groped in public place. That is the male privilege we are fighting every day.
Now there would be this ‘free money’ thrown at us. It only adds to the long list of battles. The constant ‘taunts’ one would get to hear because, ‘well, why don’t you sit at home and take the free money instead of using your knees in office?’ The knee jibe is often given to tell women that they think from their knee because unka dimaag ghutno mein hai – I have personally heard this jibe from a qualified chartered accountant, no less.
Charity, they say, begins from home. How about having a woman chief minister for Gujarat? Or let a woman be the national convener for Aam Aadmi Party? To put things in perspective, the Delhi government cabinet, where Aam Aadmi Party has 61 out of 70 MLAs in the Delhi Assembly and not a single woman MLA is a minister in the Kejriwal cabinet. Why are women in his government not given more responsible work? Does Kejriwal think women are only interested in buying vegetables?
