As the United Democratic Front (UDF) Government settles into Government in Kerala, its architects can feel truly proud of one fact — the inclusion of Ms P. K. Jayalakshmi as the Minister for Youth and Scheduled Tribes Welfare. The rousing reason for that lies beyond the ever-smiling facade of this exemplary woman. She is not just another run-of-the-mill politician, but one who symbolises three aspects of Kerala that are unique and could well prove to be a model for other States in search of social egalitarianism — gender, youth and community.

The way to the future

As the first tribal woman member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Ms Jayalakshmi not only represents the power of the margnialised, but she also points the way to the future of a young and confident Kerala, in which women stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts. At 29, Ms Jayalakshkmi is the youngest Minister in the Kerala Cabinet, and that fact, coupled with her gender, augurs well for a State that has long boasted a superior profile of gender-neutral development.

Interestingly enough, simultaneously with this appointment of Ms Jayalakshkmi as Minister, comes the news that the Kerala State Women's Development Corporation is planning an ad campaign around the theme of the new face of Malayali womanhood. The dozen or so prominent Malayali women featuring in the song for the advertisement range from glamourous film stars Vidya Balan and Asin to film editor Beena Paul and Inspector-General of Police, B. Sandhya.

More women follow: poet Sugathakumari, athlete Preeja Sreedharan, beauty queen Parvathy Omanakuttan, dancer Mallika Sarabhai, actress Revathi, bureaucrat Usha Titus and social worker Rabia who is confined to a wheelchair.

As Ms Jayalakshmi takes hold of the reins of power in her Ministry, she should remember that despite the several gains that women have made in Kerala — through education, land reforms, healthcare, social movements — they are still a neglected lot. They are also still subject to outdated and chauvinistic modes of oppressive patriachy that limit their lives and livelihoods. Witness the scourge of dowry, which is rampant in a supposedly gender-liberated State like Kerala.

The new Minister, Ms Jayalakshmi, is thus not a mere symbol of the potential for women in Kerala's public life. She represents the aspirations of thousands of young women who wish to make a difference in the land to which they were born.

In the historical context of a mismatch between the expected outcomes of a “liberated” and “empowered” woman citizenry and the actual social practices of suppression and exclusion, Kerala's women would do well to cling on the this newfound symbol of power — however ephemeral.

(The writer can be contacted at >kgkumar@gmail.com )

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