Bihar women’s vote was for dignity, not freebies

The recent Bihar election will be remembered for the quiet, firm resolve of the state's women voters - Bihar recorded its highest-ever turnout since 1951, at around 66.9%; 71.6% of eligible women cast their vote, compared with 62.8% of men.

- Vanathi Srinivasan

Women's choices are reshaping the nation's political landscape, and Bihar is a powerful witness to that. However, almost immediately, a familiar narrative surfaced: Women "voted for money", attracted by cash transfers and welfare schemes. It is both factually shallow and deeply disrespectful. Bihar's women endorsed a model of governance that finally sees them, puts their name on bank accounts, gas connections, house-ownership documentsand, by extension, in the decisionmaking.

Across Western European countries, regular cash support to families - child benefits, parental leave, income support - is accepted as the backbone of a humane society. It helps mothers stay in the workforce, protects children from poverty, and gives families stability. No one there calls it "vote buying".

Nobel laureate economist Esther Duflo in her research has shown that when women control more income and assets, they invest more in their children's education, nutrition and health: Women's empowerment and economic development reinforce each other. That is exactly what putting money into women's hands is meant to do.