Empowering Women in Politics
βOur goal is to of having women in our Parliament and our decision making, we have chosen a pathway of political professional cadre to be built in the first place that can help women climb up the ladder.β
We had the opportunity to interview Kanksshi Agarwal, the founder of the Netri foundation, which is Indiaβs first political incubator aggregator for women in the political ecosystem. Whatβs interesting is that they intend to provide a platform, through a new industry for a political professional cadre, which is women. It would act as a catalyst in their becoming more aware, informed, and empowered individuals.
As Meghan Markle very rightly said, βWomen donβt need to find a voice, they have a voice, they
need to feel empowered to use it, and people need to be encouraged to listen.β When it comes to the aspect of the process of women climbing up the ladder, politics has always been a field that is not only male-dominant but in their words βcordoned off the field for womenβ and even
if they do make it, itβs difficult to set their mark. The Netri foundation works on 4 pillars, and 2 things that require a political career, are social capital and financial capital.
To build social capital, you need a network and the opportunities that come from it, and some practical experience, some on-field experience. Since, a lot of women, might not know how to work in these situations and feel stuck, Netri comes into place. To fill this gap, Netri offers different types of programs open to very large groups of women and lasting 4-5 weeks. They not only provide them with a political education but also theoretical recognition of basics and practical aspects, with the help of their faculty members who are practitioners themselves, now retired from politics but still veterans with deep insights. awareness of technical fundamentals and practical aspects.
In her opinion, this affects not only departments dealing with public policy, but also psephologists, if they tend to see researchers who have close ties and insights into political economy and data. Connections also play an important role. As a tech-enabled company, the foundation also pitches ideas and strives to keep up with technological innovations within a year of proposing NSRCEL, including creating a LinkedIn profile for women.
When asked βHow do you tie in with which stage of our political journey should a woman come to you in just trying to understand for the person?β They mentioned how the existing program has been divided into three tiers. After two years of this foundation, the program is broken down, through their insights. So one can be at the stage of entering politics, or oneβs at the stage where they wish to contest, or after 10 years of political activism, Theyβre at a stage where they want to compete or work in a position where it’s taken a little bit more seriously. Those are the two categories theyβre looking at right now.
Moreover, to shed some light on what inspired this project, for them, Inspiration comes through a personal story and systematic experience. Talking about the frequent experience, being closely involved in overseeing the elections, working for political parties, and being a legislative advisor to a member of parliament provided the exposure that was required. Which brought to their realization, being a 25-year-old, β Why can`t I contest? Why can’t I be in the system? And what does it require? So people said, you need a godfather in politics, you need money in politics, but at the same time to even figure this out, I had to be in the system.β
While seeing politicians around them, and going through the systematic process themselves, did they witness the harsh ground reality, of the lack of women folk on campaign sites, how women are used as vote banks, and those working door-to-door, their political intelligence is also underutilized. Not only are they underrepresented, but their vastly different political views, opinions, and experiences are unrepresented and unrealized.
Since, women do not belong to a specific, single category, they also exist within the caste they exist in within families, religion, and even their sexuality. So the experiences are very different. Hence, a single woman making the cut wonβt be a solution, it does not involve Intersectionality. Itβs important to question, whether are we truly representative democracy. This is where the agenda of acknowledging the privilege one has, and using it and their connections and network to build something out for the other diverse strata of women are.
Move on to the part about what one experiences in their life and how it affects their perspective on how one sees and reacts to society. Considering the vast role βidentityβ plays and how Kanksshiβs identity has been overrepresented and overrepresented in Indian politics. But at the same time, as any woman, there’s an irony and a contrasting reality that comes into play, whether she’s privileged as a woman or not, she’s going to have a hard time succeeding. Their role, and their value, are therefore questioned by society. This further led to the founder’s commitment to change the system to make it a more welcoming space for women.
Keeping the goal for the upcoming next 2 years, the foundation is committed to finding a voice of its own, being driven by representation, driven to change the hate-driven, patriarchal system of politics which at the moment, is a toxic environment for women to even step in, To be the part of the political dynamics, focusing on enabling more women, to occupy spaces that truly run politics such as Election Management.
To create change, we need to be the change. Not only is it essential, to be aware that politics affects everyone, each of us and itβs important to deal with understanding the fundamental of politics, We need to break away from the slumber of denial, face the reality, deal with it, Politics need new ideas, it needs innovations and a change of pace.
NSRCELβs startup ecosystem helps entrepreneurs access resources that help them band together and innovate the future of India. Netri, during proposing to NSRCEL, being a tech-enabled venture, tried to stay abreast of technological innovations while focusing on politics, and within a year of making her presentation to NSRCEL, was able to build a women’s political platform on LinkedIn. During the pre-incubation period of 100 days, giving them the clarity and validation of the work that they were doing, from being selected among 27 other ventures, and being in the top 18 and top 9. At the same time, on being incubated last year, in 2021, they walked a tightrope of being driven by their vision while maintaining organizational sustainability. Developing their model, understanding the strategy, and understanding their customers are just a few steps in their journey with NSRCEL so far.
As Benjamin Franklin said, βJustice will not be served, until those who are unaffected, are as outraged as those who are.β
