As WCD minister, Smriti Irani will have a tough role to play

Smriti Irani took charge of the Women and Child Development ministry

Smriti Irani is greeted as she takes charge as Minister of Women and Child Development at her office, in New Delhi | Sanjay Ahlawat Smriti Irani is greeted as she takes charge as Minister of Women and Child Development at her office, in New Delhi | Sanjay Ahlawat

Smriti Irani took charge of the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry on Monday. Clad in a red and black ikat sari (she still holds the textiles ministry portfolio, and has been a promoter of hand woven fabric) Irani was all smiles as she met the officials of the ministry. She had, on Saturday, met her predecessor Maneka Gandhi. Debasree Chaudhuri took charge as minister of state in WCD on Saturday. 

The WCD ministry has assumed great significance in Narendra Modi's second term, with the woman voter having emerged as an important, and even independent vote bank. During the recent Lok Sabha elections, the female voter turnout (66.68 per cent), for the first time, was almost the same as that of the males (66.79 per cent). During the last UP state election, several Muslim women voted for the BJP, breaking tradition, because the BJP had announced it would ban the triple talaq. The triple talaq was ultimately considered invalid by the Supreme Court. The last government had tried to bring in a legislation banning triple talaq, but though it was cleared in the Lok Sabha, it did not get through the Rajya Sabha. The bill has lapsed, and the government plans to reintroduce it. 

The triple talaq bill was not initiated by the WCD ministry, but the Law Ministry. However, its target was women. Similarly, in the previous term, several schemes were launched by various ministries, which targetted women. The Ujjwala Scheme by the Petroleum and Natural Gas ministry targetted the rural homemaker, and was aimed at getting cooking gas connections to every rural home. The Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, spearheaded by the Sanitation and Drinking Water ministry, which aimed at making the country open defecation free, too, had women as the biggest beneficiaries. A toilet at home saved them the humiliation of public defecation and the dangers of being molested by men or attacked by animals. The Jan Dhan and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were other schemes that benefited women. 

In fact, realising the importance of this electorate, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced free travel for women commuters in public transport. He obviously has an eye on the assembly elections next year. 

The WCD was the nodal ministry of one of Modi's flagship schemes, the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Yojana, which was aimed at celebrating the girl child. The scheme was a holistic approach towards improving the chances of survival of the girl child as well as helping with her education. Modi's Selfie with Daughter campaign celebrated the pride of having a daughter, while other interventions aimed at increasing institutional deliveries, and registration for ante natal check-ups. According to the ministry's last figures of 2018, the Sex Ratio at Birth has improved in 104 of the 161 districts where the scheme was implemented. The Janani Suraksha Scheme for pregnant mothers was also revamped under Maneka Gandhi, with direct payments to the beneficiaries. 

As the new WCD minister, Irani will have to nurture this electorate, not just in rural areas but in urban ones as well. Irani was one of the few vocal voices against erstwhile minister of state for external affairs M.J. Akbar, against whom a number of women journalists had come out during the #MeToo campaign last year. However, Irani also got flak from women's groups for supporting the traditional ban on entry of women to the Sabarimala shrine.