I am not surprised that  neither the LDF nor the UDF both of which had endorsed the reservation of fifty percent seats in the panchayats for women, have not fielded a significantly higher number of women in the forthcoming elections to the Kerala State Assembly.  Anyone who has observed the shaping and widening of the division between ‘high politics’ and ‘local governance’ in Kerala since the mid-1990s can well see that the rules of the game remain totally unchanged in ‘high politics’ and it will stay so even if ‘local governance’ is entrusted completely to women’s love and care.  None of the women leaders who entered public life through the panchayats and have by now completely got beyond the loving-caring-maternal stereotype are in, of course. At least one of them,Latika Subhash, who had indeed been a successful leader in local governance, saw the writing on the wall well in advance. I had a chance to listen to an interview she gave a researcher from our team studying gender and governance a few years back, in which she clearly indicated that in order to move up the political ladder, it was necessary to move into high politics. This is how she justified her decision to get back into politics despite being quite popular as a leader of the panchayat.Not surprisingly, most of the women who have indeed become candidates are well-versed with the ways of high politics and possess the necessary connections. Continue reading Enter the Paavam: Women Candidates in Kerala’s Elections →