By Jacob Peenikaparambil
Indore, April 28, 2020: The Times of India wrote an editorial on April 25 under the title, “Like a boss: Women have shown how to lead in a crisis.”
The editorial has mentioned the names of the countries where women leaders are at the helm of affairs and managed well the Covid 19 crisis — Taiwan, New Zealand, Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. The women leaders have all been remarkably proactive – responding early, testing intensively, and communicating clearly. They took concrete action in terms of protective equipment and healthcare arrangements.
The editorial has highlighted the reason for women leaders behaving differently. It is mainly because their experience is different. Women leaders tend to have different priorities and they invest in public health and social infrastructure. “Showmanship, ego and bluster don’t work for women, while collaboration comes easier to them. In a pandemic, these qualities matter greatly.”
The USA, the strongest nation in the world, had the highest number of infected cases. Almost one third of total infected persons and one fourth of total deaths in the world due to Covid 19, are in the USA. The American president Donald Trump, instead acknowledging the failures on his part for taking effective measures at the onset of the pandemic, goes on accusing China for spreading the disease.
Practically on every day, the media report his accusation against China. There could have been some failures on the part of China. But this is not the time for blame game but to find solutions in collaboration with each other. What is happening in the USA is due to the absence of feminine approach to governance. Trump’s threatening to India when India put a hold on exporting medicines needed for treating Covid 19 and suspension of immigration to US temporarily are nothing but paranoid male chauvinist reaction.
Sensitivity, compassion, care and concern for human beings, transparency, participation, consensus, free information flow, cooperation and collaboration are some aspects related to feminine ethos. In any emergency or disaster the governments show tendency to assume more power over its citizens and restrict the freedom of the latter.
The three week lockdown imposed on the people of India and extended up to 40 days without announcing simultaneously the plan for seamless supply of essential items, measures to guarantee food and medical care to the poor, especially to those who live on their daily earnings, is an example for lack of sensitivity, compassion and care, which are feminine qualities.
On April 26 videos emerged of people at a quarantine center in Agra being forced to crowd near the gate to receive essential supplies like food and water. In one of the videos that went gone viral on social media, a man in protective gear can be seen tossing biscuit packets close to the gate of the centre as people from the other side stretch their hands to try and catch them.
The video was shot at the Sharda Group of Institutions, which have been turned into a quarantine centre by the UP administration. In one of the videos, a woman is heard saying: “This is what is being done to isolated people. We were told we will have medical check-up done at some point, but this has not happened. There are no proper arrangements for food and water. Everyone is being negligent.”
Lack of sensitivity and compassion in dealing with the Corona affected and infected people has been reported from different places in India.
Demonetization imposed on the people of India in November 2016 is another example of lack of sensitivity and concern or the people. It caused untold suffering to the people of India, particularly the poor and it did not serve any purpose. The government did not explain to the people how far demonetization could achieve its avowed objectives.
On the other hand, many write ups appeared in the media, explaining that it was a disaster for the Indian economy and the people of India. Reluctance to accept the failures is generally considered as a masculine character. Political parties and politicians in general are reluctant to accept their failures.
Doubts have been expressed about the creation and operation of PM CARES (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations) fund. Already there is a Prime Ministers’ Relief Fund. Contributions could have been solicited to this fund.
Apprehensions have also been raised about the transparency of the Fund, since it will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG); instead the trustees will appoint “independent auditors”. Many have expressed doubts about transparency and accountability regarding the use of fund.
The Central government has clarified that contributions made by companies to the PM CARES Fund shall qualify as CSR expenditure. However, contributions made to the ‘Chief Minister’s Relief Fund’ or ‘State Relief Fund for COVID-19’ (run by several states) shall not qualify as admissible CSR expenditure. As a result, corporations would be deterred from contributing to state relief efforts, and would prefer to contribute CSR money to the PM CARES Fund.
At the same time, sanitation and public health come under the purview of the State governments. The states have to bear the expenses of many tasks related to Covid 19 like stepping up production of hand sanitizers and face masks, delivering food to school children as Mid Day Meal, making arrangements to provide shelter, ration and financial assistance to families of daily-wage workers, setting up mental health help lines etc.
Many states have requested the Centre to provide finance to meet the additional burden, but they have not yet received any positive response. What is happening in this process is concentration of power in the Central government. Devolution or sharing power is a feminine attribute whereas concentration of power is a masculine attribute.
Kerala model of fighting Covid 19 has brought accolades not only from India but also from different part of the world. Shobhaa De in one of her articles stated that Kerala model works only in Kerala.
It is true that the Kerala model has certain fundamentals which are not available in many other states of India. Devolution of power to the Gram Panchayats and other local bodies, robust peoples’ organizations like Kudumbashree, better education and health of the people due to high investment in these two sectors, high level political awareness of the people, good cooperation from the people, transparency and flow of information on the part of the political leadership are some of the strengths of Kerala and they are playing a vital role in combating the pandemic.
Most of the community kitchens are managed by the local self governments.
Feminine ethos has played a crucial role in enabling Kerala to fight the pandemic Covid 19 by reducing the spread and death to the minimum. People of Kerala are proud that they have a woman health minister in the person of Shailaja teacher. Her commitment and dedication make a great difference.
Some studies have brought to light that wherever women representatives are allowed to function freely without the control of men in Gram Panchayats, the quality of governance improved and level of corruption reduced. These Panchayats have given special attention to availability of drinking water, sanitation, employment generation for women, better functioning of ICDS and primary school.
Increased participation of women in governing structures can increase the quality of governance. Unfortunately, the political parties in India have failed to come to a consensus on providing 33% reservation for women in the parliament and legislative assemblies.
Religious institutions are another sphere where women are nearly excluded from governance structures. Religious institutions, including the Catholic Church, can become more humane and spiritual, if they integrate into their governance system feminine ethos by involving more women in the decision making process and delegating to them tasks with authority.
The performance of the countries led by women and the success of Kerala in the fight against pandemic Covid 19 under the leadership of a woman health minister underline the need for integrating feminine ethos into governance at different levels. This can lead to the creation of a more humane world.
(The write is available on this ide: jacobpt48@gmail.com)