CB BureauTata Global Beverages has released
a 10-point manifesto from Indian women, basically aimed at influencing and
sensitizing politicians towards women’s rights. The company’s media release
claims that responses from over a million women from across India were
collected and their issues studied before creation of the manifesto, called
‘Voice of 49%’. The major issues that almost all women underlined revolved
around violence, safety, health and education.
‘The objective of the
campaign was to create a large number of educated women voters with a view that
an informed female electorate would propel the political leaders to include
their issues in the agenda in the forthcoming elections. Our study indicates
that women are beginning to understand the role they play in forming a
government and are more inclined towards voting now,’ read a statement from
Vikram Grover, vice president, marketing, India and South Asia, at Tata Global
Beverages.
‘These issues have been
collated in a first-of-its-kind manifesto that represents the collective voice
of the Aam Aurat. Our triumph lies in Tata Tea Jaago Re becoming a platform for
national discourse for issues like the importance of voting and the ills of corruption.
With the Power of 49, we have reached another milestone with respect to women
and their role in the forthcoming elections and the future of our democracy,’ Grover
added.
The key highlights of the
Voice of 49 manifesto are:
- Politicians must lead by example by displaying zero tolerance for
perpetrators of domestic abuse and dowry in political parties. - Address the under-representation of women in the parliament through
increased representation in party ticket distribution as well as cabinet. - Make gender sensitization for boys a compulsory part of the school
curriculum from Standard V to Standard XII in order to counter eve-teasing. -
Increase percentage of women police personnel from the current 5 per cent
to at least 33 per cent. - Build a combined ‘front-line army’ of government workers, NGOs and local
health and sanitation workers with accredited social health activists. - Build one crore women toilets within a year, with privacy and 24/7 access
to water. - Provide mandatory crèches and women-friendly maternity policies that
include long-term leave. - Incentivize schooling for girls by providing financial savings schemes
and free transportation. - Install GPS on all buses, double the number of street lights, and provide
round-the-clock public transportation for women. - Provide complete medical, legal and psychological support to victims of
domestic violence by instituting special family counselling centres in
government buildings and policy centres.
Power of 49 is being supported by the
Tata group as it aligns closely with the group’s social agenda. The campaign has
seen Tata group companies and employees volunteering to play their part in
amplifying the impact of the campaign.