Women and politics in India

 The year 2024 is being hailed as the biggest year for democracy, with
45% of the global population preparing to exercise their voting rights.
o And, it has become imperative to assess how women are
represented in politics and leadership roles.

Women’s Political Participation

 Women’s representation in political spheres improved in the latter half

of the 20th century, with significant progress made in many nations in
securing voting rights and parliamentary seats, and in climbing to the
highest political offices.

o New Zealand extended universal suffrage to women in 1893.

o Norway first saw women enter parliament in 1907

 As of 10 January 2024, there are 26 countries where 28 women serve as
Heads of State and/or Government .

o 15 countries have a woman Head of State, and 16 countries

have a woman Head of Government
 First-time compiled data by UN Women show that women represent
22.8 percent of Cabinet members heading Ministries, leading a
policy area as of 1 January 2023 .

Status in india

 India has a history of marginalisation and exploitation of women framed

by patriarchal social structures and mindsets.

 Beginning in the 19th century, social reform movements succeeded in

pushing for women’s well-being and empowerment.
  The Indian freedom movement, starting with the swadeshi in Bengal
(1905-08) also witnessed the impressive participation of women,] who
organised political demonstrations and mobilised resources, as well as
occupied leadership positions in those movements.

 Women representation in Lok Sabha has increased from 5% in the first

Lok Sabha to 15% in the current Lok Sabha.
o Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Norway, and
South Africa have more than 45% women representation in
their national legislatures.

o Currently, 15% of Lok Sabha MPs and 13% of Rajya

Sabha MPs are women.

Importance

 Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life

are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by
2030.

 Women’s representation in the national parliament is a key indicator of

the extent of gender equality in parliamentary politics.

 It will ensure that women form a strong lobby in Parliament to fight for
issues that are often ignored.

 There is now evidence that women as panchayat leaders have shattered

social myths, been more accessible than men, controlled the
stranglehold of liquor, invested substantially in public goods such as
drinking water, helped other women express themselves better, reduced
corruption, prioritised nutrition outcomes, and changed the development
agenda at the grassroots level.
  India has a high percentage of crimes against women, low participation
of women in the workforce, low nutrition levels and a skewed sex ratio.

o To address all these challenges, it is argued, we need more

women in decision-making.
 The rate at which women accumulate assets while in office is 10
percentage points lower, per year than among men.

Challenges in Women’s Representation in National and State Legislatures

 Societal prejudices, a male-dominated political party structure, family

obligations, resource scarcity, and various structural hindrances all
impede greater participation among women as contestants and winners
in parliamentary or state assembly elections.

 Election campaigns in India are extremely demanding and time-

consuming. Women politicians, with family commitments and the
responsibilities of child care, often find it difficult to fully participate.

 Women politicians have been constantly subjected to humiliation,

inappropriate comments, abuse and threats of abuse, making
participation and contesting elections extremely challenging. Financing
is also an obstacle as many women are financially dependent on their
families.

 There is a general perception that women should be preferred for “soft”

ministries like Social Welfare, Culture, Women and Child
Development.

Related Efforts
  After India attained independence, its Constitution guaranteed equal
status for men and women in all political, social and economic spheres.

 Part III of the Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights of men

and women.

o The Directive Principles of State Policy ensure economic

empowerment by providing for equal pay for equal work by
both men and women, humane conditions of work, and
maternity relief
 At the same time, India has taken a number of steps towards women’s
empowerment in other domains, such as marriage and employment.

o For example, the Supreme Court has conferred daughters the

equal status of a coparcener in Hindu families, providing them
inheritance rights.

o It has also ruled that “women officers in the army should be

entitled to permanent commission and command postings in
all services other than combat, and they have to be considered
for it irrespective of their service length.
 In 1992, the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution provided
for reservation of one-third of the total number of seats for women in
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and municipal bodies.
o The amendment intended to improve women’s participation
in decision-making at the grassroots.

Why women participation in law making process is so important?

 Political empowerment: Legislative representation is fundamental to political

empowerment, enabling participation in the law-making process. Legislatures
 play a vital role in raising debates and discussions on various aspects of
governance and in exacting accountability from the government.
 Shows the status of gender parity: Women’s representation in the national
parliament is a key indicator of the extent of gender equality in parliamentary
politics.
 Women bring different skills to politics: According to Political scientist, Anne
“women bring different skills to politics and provide role models for future
generations; they appeal to justice between sexes.
 Facilitates specific interests of women in policy: Their inclusion in politics
facilitates representation of the specific interests of women in state policy and
creates conditions for a revitalized democracy that bridges the gap between
representation and participation.
 Highly effective and less likely to be criminal and corrupt: Study found that,
women legislators perform better in their constituencies on economic indicators
than their male counterparts also women legislators are less likely to be criminal
and corrupt, more efficacious, and less vulnerable to political opportunism.

*Number of Women Representation in Lok Sabha

women's representation in state assemblies

As of the end of 2021, the percentage of women elected to Legislative Assemblies

in various states were as follows:

 Andhra Pradesh: 8.00%

 Arunachal Pradesh: 5.00%
 Assam: 4.76%
 Bihar: 10.70%
 Chhattisgarh: 14.44%
 Goa: 5.00%
 Gujarat: 7.14%
 Haryana: 10.00%
 Himachal Pradesh: 5.88%
 Jammu and Kashmir: 2.30%
 Jharkhand: 12.35%
 Karnataka: 3.14%
 Kerala: 7.86%
 Madhya Pradesh: 9.13%
 Maharashtra: 8.33%
 Manipur: 3.33%
 Meghalaya: 5.08%
 Mizoram: 0%
 Nagaland: 0%
 Odisha: 8.90%
 Punjab: 5.13%
 Rajasthan: 12.00%
 Sikkim: 9.38%
 Tamil Nadu: 5.13%
 Telangana: 5.04%
 Tripura: 5.00%
 Uttarakhand: 7.14%
 Uttar Pradesh: 10.55%
 West Bengal: 13.70%
 NCT of Delhi: 11.43%
  Puducherry: 3.33%

In the recently concluded Legislative Assembly Elections of 5 States in 2022, the

percentage of women elected were as follows:

 Goa: 7.50%
 Manipur: 6.42%

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections were held in April-May 2019, and the results were
announced on May 23, 2019. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a clear
majority with 303 seats, which was 55.8% of the total seats. The Indian National
Congress (INC) won 52 seats, which was 9.6% of the total seats. Other parties
and their seat counts included the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 10 seats, All
India Trinamool Congress (AITC) with 22 seats, and others with 155 seats. In
Andhra Pradesh, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party won 22 seats. In
Bihar, the BJP won 17 seats, Janata Dal (United) won 16 seats, and the Lok Jan
Shakti Party won 6 seats. In Gujarat, the BJP won all 26 seats.

The act passed by the government to secure 33% of Lok Sabha seats for women
is known as the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, also referred to as the Nari
Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023. Officially, it is titled The Constitution (One
Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023. This act reserves one-third
of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies, and the
Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, including those
reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The reservation
will be effective after the publication of the census conducted following the Act’s
commencement and endures for a 15-year period, with potential extension
determined by parliamentary action. The rotation of seats allocated for women
will be governed by parliamentary legislation after each delimitation process.
This act is a significant step towards promoting inclusivity in democracy, making
it more participative, and eliminating the gender gap in the long run. It is a
landmark moment for gender equality, especially in terms of women’s political
leadership.