ACCORDING TO our Harvard-addressor RJD supremo, women are best left attending to household matters while the men move around in the corridors of power. Lalu Prasad Yadav has drawn the wrath of women all over the country not just by opposing the 33 per cent reservation Bill for women in Parliament tooth and nail, but also going ahead to say that women aren't even mature enough to have any political will of their own. To quote him, "If they think women vote independently without considering their husband's wishes, they are mistaken. If I ask Rabri (Devi) to vote for someone, do you think she will do otherwise?"

But not everyone agrees with him. "I think it's high time Mr Yadav woke up from his slumber," says Kehkashan Khan, a marketing executive at a designer firm. "Although he might love to treat the women in his household as meek cows, we, 21st century women, are no longer willing to be just doormats. It's really sad that a leader who has seven daughters is being so regressive."

For women born and brought up without any discrimination in the urban set up, his comments are obviously ridiculous. But there is some truth to his statements when it comes to villages or small towns. There, women haven't been empowered enough to think beyond their father's or husband's views," says social development professional Manjula Singh.

IT IS precisely for this reason that we need to see more women as leaders. The Bill may have flaws, but it goes a long way in promoting women in much larger roles henceforth. In 2007, the rate of female representation at national level of politics stood at merely 18 per cent globally. Although this figure has increased, minimal progress has been made, meaning that the ideal of parity between men and women in national legislatures still remains distant.

The influence that men had over the minds over women in the family has diminished over the years with women coming out to work, watching satellite TV, etc. Literacy rates have gone up manifold and women are exposed to a far larger world these days." In such a scenario, till you put up more women on top you would never really know how they'll fare. The number of women in politics is abysmal in India because of the mindset that women aren't qualified or mature enough. Or is it that men are not ready to give away what they feel is theirs? What say, Laluji?

"Mr Yadav may love to treat women in his house as meek cows. But 21st century women are no longer willing to be just doormats."