I'm from India and political parties here don't have any understanding about gender issues. All they know is that 'women are dominated by men' and 'we must empower them'. I agree that education for women in India is indispensable. Employment opportunities, maternity leave, equal opportunities in government services are all needed. But what the parties have done is so ridiculous.

In one state, women are free to travel in metro trains. There is no criteria to separate the well-off women from those who really need these free travels. In another state, women need not pay for tickets in buses which are run by the state government. In my state, in the local body elections, the government reserved more than 50 percent of vacancies for women. More than fifty percent! Is this even equality? In the same state, 40 percent of vacancies in the government jobs are reserved for women. Don't let this fool you. In the remaining 60 percent too women can participate. So if in the remaining 60 percent half the posts go to women, women would occupy 70 percent of the posts. All these things are done in the name of empowerment of women. When are they going to realise that they are weakening men while empowering women using these policies?