The two big political parties of the country, the ruling party- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) have released their election manifestos covering an array of national issues. They included several national issues ranging from women empowerment and safety, national security to employment, agriculture sector and rural development.

Both the parties focused significantly on empowering women. With  making promises to increase reservation for women to 33 percent in Lok Sabha and Central government posts to ensuring them financial independence by creating fresh employment opportunities in the next five years. However, activists and social workers say that the women issues in the manifestoes are just poll promises. “To provide employment and ensuring safety for women are just general promises. The previous government had allotted 1000 Crore for the Nirbhaya fund- what happened to that fund? There is still no CCTV camera in the tribal girls’ hostel or the railway station, nor was any campaign launched to make Ranchi a safe city. So many women were killed in the name of witch hunting and nothing was done for the rehabilitation of their families. Women have been cheated on time and again and are just used during rallies and demonstrations to increase their vote banks” said Vasavi Kiro- former member of Jharkhand Women’s Commission and a social activist.

“Women empowerment is still a burning issue. Women are still fighting for their rights and all the promises ever made need to be implemented. There is huge gap in what is said and what is done. Where are they now and why aren’t they given the top positions? They need to be in command. They are very insecure in today’s times and have to bear a lot of atrocities,” said Ratan Tirkey- member of Tribal Advisory Council.

The manifestos also put emphasis on providing security to women as a priority, ensuring them equal rights and a dignified a life.