#BreakTheCeiling

[everythingkashmir]

The glass ceiling that won’t break

By Faisul Yaseen

Despite much rhetoric about gender equality and women’s reservations by the major political parties, the distribution of mandates among the female folk in the J&K assembly polls points to their failure to walk the talk.

Among 902 contesting candidates for 90 assembly seats, only 42 women have got the mandate from political parties or are contesting independently – a total of just 4.65 percent of the total contesting.

This sad statistic is merely the beginning of a larger, more disturbing tale.

As it frames up with the major political actors in play including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Conference (PC), Apni Party, and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) into its fold, the statistics paint an even bleaker picture.

These mainstream parties have, together, fielded just eight women, or a meagre 0.89 percent of the total candidates contesting.

The BJP and Congress have fielded only one woman candidate each in J&K, while the NC has fielded three candidates, PDP two, Apni Party one, and PC and DPAP zero.

Compared with this, 21 women are contesting as independents and all the other parties in total are fielding 13 female candidates.

A total of 58 of the 90 constituencies do not have a single female candidate.

Another 22 constituencies have only one female candidate while seven constituencies can afford to watch two female contesting candidates.

Three female candidates are contesting a constituency in just two rare cases.

While the BJP and Congress have given tickets to only one female contestant each, who are both political newbies, NC has given mandate to a trio of women candidates including Sakina Masood (Itoo) and Shamima Firdaus, both of whom have experienced the turbulent storms of J&K politics, while only one is a newbie.

Similarly, among the two women contesting from the PDP, the party has fielded former legislator Asiea Naqash and Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP President Mehbooba Mufti.

This is a classic case of elite capture rather than a commitment to gender parity as such.

A day after the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, to reserve 33 percent seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was cleared by both Houses of the Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the bill presaged a new “democratic commitment” in India.

However, the BJP giving the mandate to only one woman among the 90 assembly seats in J&K illustrates that the commitment remains unfulfilled.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi in his message on the 40th anniversary of the All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) said, “In a system often stacked against women, each one of you must fight for and stake your rightful share of social, economic, and political power.”

The fact that Congress has given its mandates to just one woman in J&K suggests that even the Congress party’s system too is stacked against women.

Speaking with reporters in central Kashmir’s Budgam district in September 2023, NC Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah said, “Fifty percent of our population is our sisters and mothers. They should get a chance to become representatives of the people.”

Abdullah said that NC had no scarcity of female leaders of calibre.

However, why then did it only give the mandate to so few women is perplexing.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti had welcomed the union cabinet’s decision to approve the Women’s Reservation Bill and termed it a great step.

“Having navigated the rough terrain of a predominantly male political landscape myself, I am happy to see that finally, the Women Reservation Bill will become a reality. We’re grossly underrepresented given that we form half of the population. Great step,” Mufti posted on microblogging site X.

However, having given the mandate to just her daughter besides an ex-legislator, Mehbooba and her PDP too seem rather unwilling to give meaningful representation to women.

Former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had also congratulated the government on passing the Women’s Reservation Bill and said that it should have been passed 30 years back.

However, the fledgling party itself has not given mandate to even a single woman across J&K.

Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari has been a vocal voice of 33 percent reservation for women in the J&K Legislative Assembly.

“Our party believes in real empowerment of women in J&K, and that dream will be realised when we have a considerable number of women lawmakers in our Legislative Assembly,” Bukhari said at a party function in Srinagar.

Why did his party then field only one female candidate across J&K?

For sure, in the corridors of power, perhaps the assurance of a 33 percent reservation for women may have come with more cheers and optimism.

However, the real question now is not so much if women can shatter the glass ceiling but whether the political establishment is ready to let them.

Greater Kashmir

[tonymccabe]

🌟 Empowered Women Empower Women 🌟

Ladies, never dim your light to make others comfortable. Take up space. Speak your truth. Chase your dreams unapologetically. You are capable, intelligent, strong, and worthy, no validation required.

Support other women. Hype them up. Celebrate their successes like they’re your own. There is enough room at the table for all of us. And if there isn’t? Build a bigger table.

Your voice matters. Your dreams matter. YOU matter. So go out there and make waves. The world needs your fire. 🔥💪✨ #WomenSupportingWomen #FearlessAndFree #BreakTheCeiling

[devyanikitu]

Freedom. #green_hugs #poemgasm #azadi #poetsofinstagram #poetry #free #poetryofinstagram #poetryislife #friday #motivationalquotes #positivequotes #quotestoliveby #poetryisart #poetryisalive #breaktheceiling #shatterceilings #glassceiling #iwrite #poetryis #poetryistherapy #writethroughit #healwithwords #wordpower #wordsofwisdom https://www.instagram.com/p/ByqaBjLFzsq/?igshid=1s2u8ya5djit1

[thebookdragon217]

"Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Today is Day 17 of @prettylittlebookshelf 's #blackresilencebookstatour and the prompt is favorite self empowerment/development book by a black author. I listened to this one audio and boy oh boy was I wowed! Not only is Chimamanda's narration sent from heaven but her ideas about gender norms and intersection with toxic masculinity ignited a flame of conscious thought in me. She posits that instead of simply focusing on one gender, the framework of thinking and ways that we educate about gender needs to change as a whole. Women are taught that their empowerment is always attributed to some form of male approval, such as the male gaze, suitability for marriage and childbearing, being domestic etc but no one ever thinks about what the world would be like if people were treated as individuals with autonomy and dreams and interests of their own that ate valid. This book was thought provoking even in its' short length and critiques how ideas of masculinity are shaped by the ways that women are engendered and the high pressures and uninformed standards that society sets for men. It was interesting to hear her suggestions on how to combat the structure of rigid gendered norms and how a society can foster empowered individuals by giving them the tools they need as human beings, rather than what we think they need to know based on gender. What really stuck out to me is the idea that in order to make sustained change we have to consistently question our motivations and ways of thinking. This book is a manifesto for life and should be considered required reading. This bookdragon rates this 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. #blacklivesmatter #readblackstories #supportblackauthors #diversereader #feminismisforeveryone #bechanged #empowerwomen #feminismispower #thinkoutsidethebox #readandthink #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #breakingbarriers #breaktheceiling #booksandplants #succulents #audiobooks #listentowomen (at Brooklyn, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCwcl0zAGZq/?igshid=fzi4yobgtif0

[shesthehonestmom]

"Every time you choose one woman, you support all women, everywhere". Every day women continue to shatter the glass ceiling. How do you "crack" the glass? Tomorrow, December 4th, @choosewomen launches. ChooseWOMEN is a global initiative meant inspire all women by choosing to support them. So tomorrow, choose women. Choose to support women owned businesses. Choose to support their careers, their hopes, and their dreams. How to you break the ceiling? #choosewomen #girlpower💪 #womensupportingwomeninbusiness #futureisfemale #thefutureisfemale #togetherwecan #femaleempowerment #supportwomen #iamwoman #breaktheceiling (at Howell, Michigan) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5n3kDXgw6P/?igshid=1bg3d482np4vw

[thehailphoenix]

Coz you are as much ready as you think you are..... #dontwait #goforit #youarestrong #breaktheceiling #determined✌️ https://www.instagram.com/thehailphoenix/p/BwMPDD3he4n/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7znsv80scbyg

[superhayles-blog]

Friday feels. Break the mold that people expect of you. Live your dreams. Keep that ambition up! #cantholdmedown #notfallingbehind #iaminimitableiamanoriginal #awesomesauce #breaktheceiling #womenintech #womenwholift #nomaddreams #lovetotravel

[belladoliva]

Redefine Recalibrate YOU! #2018 #goals #mondaymotivation #bethechangeyouwanttoseeintheworld🌎 #breaktheceiling #bethestorm #inspire Ciao Bella ❤️❤️❤️ #DomAmore @belladoliva_by_la_marchesi (at Bella D'Oliva by L.A. Marchesi - Importer of Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

[our-feministutopia-blog]

[pjimmyj]

New day fresh eyes fresh outlook - let's go #breaktheceiling #thankyou

[jbolt58]

Keynote Speaking at the #WVAFCS Annual Meeting today! #ChooseYourPath #LoveMyJob #BreakTheCeiling (at Jackson's Mill)

[mentortravel]

A cheers is in order for Iceland! 🍻 They passed a law making it illegal to pay women less than men that came into effect on January 1. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 To celebrate this special occasion, we have a four day road trip to see some of the beautiful places this country has to offer... Link in bio! • • • • #mentortravel #iceland #reykjavik #campervan #camping #wanderlust #wander #explore #exploremore #expat #expatlife #roadtrip #travel #traveling #travelgram #travelmore #instatravel #igtravel #pnw #lovelife #getaway #adventure #equality #breaktheceiling — view on Instagram http://bit.ly/2VItl4h

[sonalidalal]

The Story Now: #BreakTheCeiling

As the Women’s March on Washington approaches, we celebrate these trailblazers. #BreakTheCeiling

The Story Now: #BreakTheCeiling

We all know the women who broke down gender barriers, fought against injustice and stood out in a male-dominated world. But there are so many more badass women whose names you might not know – whose victories shaped the lives of every woman today. Photo by Fred W. McDarrah/Getty Images

Getty Images | iStock Ambassadors

[couturecandigirl]

I was laying in bed earlier this morning waiting to fall asleep when my son came in the room and said he had a nightmare and could he sleep with me. As a mom I am accustomed to little or no sleep so I put in my bed and as my eyes were slowly closing the title of a blog “The Queen Reigns” (I changed the title just now), as I toke on my vape to write this. 

2018, for me is the year of the Woman. For the next 365 days I am posting encouraging words on my Instagram post. Along with my #LOTD (Look of The Day) I write something that I hope will encourage other women to look out for their fellow Queens. We as women tend to have that “crab in a barrel” mentality where we only think about ourselves while tearing down the sista next to us. #TimeOut on that kind of thinking! 

As women we already have one strike against us in this “man’s world” and if we are of color that’s two strikes and if we demand equal pay for the work we do and climb our way up beyond the “glass ceiling” that is strike three and we are OUT!! Well, I am here to say #NoMore it is time for us as women to lean down and bring our fellow Queens up to our level and give them a boost to the next level.

#TimeOut for the bullsh*t and thinking like a man mentality to try to get ahead. We should not be #QueenShamed because we like to look good and feel even better no matter if we are in the front of the classroom or the boardroom. No one should be talking behind her back because her skirt is above the knee or blouse/top is too tight for your taste. Her appearance should never be anyone else’s concern unless she has toilet paper on her shoe or her dress is tucked in her underwear.  Then yes by all means SPEAK UP LMBO!! 

I like to uplift and encourage women to be the very best they can be in their everyday life. I have firmly believed in the phrase “Each One Teach One” if someone had not of leaned down and gave me a lift up in college I may not have graduated. If I did not have my sista Queen in my life to hold me down through the good and bad since high school then I am not sure where I would be.  And of course if I were not raised by the ultimate Queens and to have them to look up too, then my life would have been behind bars or perhaps dead. My mother, Grams, and Aunt Evelyn have been the ultimate example of what a women is supposed to be despite not having a husband. These women impacted my life and formed me into the woman and mother that I am today. These women were single and each raised kids on their own. My Grams had 5 kids and even though she had my grandfather to her raise her kids till they divorced long before I was born. My mom was a single mother of 2 and she raised my brother and I the best she could. She was mother and father to us. Yet she managed to go to college full time, have 2 full time jobs and a social life (when I was way younger) and yet she never missed school functions, making three meals a day and tucking me in at night. She taught me to love to read and that education was key to doing everything in life. My Grams and aunt taught me that God is first and the rest will fall into place, backed up what my mom said about education, taught me to be refined Southern girl, taught me manners, and how to cook. Did I mention that my Aunt Baye was a single mother of two as well. My first cousins’ Edgar and Karen. 

Being a woman is a great thing in and of itself. We are the only ones that bring a life in this world. We can feed our babies without going to the store. We are tough not because we want to be, but most times because we have to be. To fellow Queens of color the world came from us and we are the species that can make a human in multiple colors from high yellow, albino to blue black with eye colors that range from blue to dark brown. “Skin color is due primarily to the presence of a pigment called melanin , which is controlled by at least 6 genes. Both light and dark complexioned people have melanin. However, two forms are produced–pheomelanin , which is red to yellow incolor, and eumelanin , which is dark brown to black (Dennis O’Neil, 2013).” To my fellow sista Queens we have been through hell and back all the while doing things on our own for our families, kids, friends and leaving ourselves to be last. If we are not careful we will be lost in the mix and lose ourselves with all the hats that we wear. I know because I am on the road to self discovery and I started in November 2017 trying to figure out who I am for me. I am mom, wife, student, Girl Scout Troop leader, Associate minister at my church and so much more. I got lost in being everything to everyone, but left myself out the equation all together. After 13 years of marriage I found out that I am not really happy with myself or my life. So I am out to change myself and my life with the help of both of my blogs and prayer. The photos of me below are my Tuesday look 3/20/18!

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Enjoy these savings from Target for the month of March:

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If this blog has lighten your outlook even a bit then I am very happy. If I have taken your mind off your cares for just a moment then please like, comment and share! Remember God made only 1 of your and that makes you unique and He wants you to do unique and awesome things in your life. I am here rooting for you and ready to cheer you on everyday!

  #ad #QueensliftingQueens #melanin #education #momsrule #grandmothersrule #auntsrule #BlackOpal #FlowerBeauty #Collabcosmetics #SallysBeauty #Target #Younique #ChloeandIsabel #Easter #MothersDay #Findyourself #breaktheceiling #bethebestyou #creatorsoflife #Womenlovingeachother #TimeOut #entrepreneur #MUA #fashionblogger #lifestyleblogger

May SHE Reign I was laying in bed earlier this morning waiting to fall asleep when my son came in the room and said he had a nightmare and could he sleep with me.

[jennsoldit]

Women supporting Women 🏛🏛🏛 Here for @marybethhyneswalsh 🇺🇸 #womeningovernment #Albany #newyork #legislature #government #capitalregion #capitol #assembly #women #wcw #bernadette #girls #breaktheceiling #womeninbusiness #womenempoweringwomen #womencrushwednesday http://ift.tt/2nvGrkm

[mukkuladp]

The Story Now: #BreakTheCeiling

We all know the women who broke down gender barriers, fought against injustice and stood out in a male-dominated world. But there are so many more badass women whose names you might not know – whose victories shaped the lives of every woman today.

The Story Now: #BreakTheCeiling

As the Women’s March on Washington approaches on January 21, 2017, we celebrate these trailblazers. The ones who pushed for equality, refused to settle and inspired a new generation of activists who believe that women’s rights are in fact human rights.

Getty Images | iStock Ambassadors