discuss women political representation in India and also suggest some measure in this regard.
Answers
The term 'political participation' has a very wide meaning. It is not only related to 'Right to Vote', but simultaneously relates to participation in: decision-making process, political activism, political consciousness, etc. Women in India participate in voting, run for public offices and political parties at lower levels more than men. Political activism and voting are the strongest areas of women's political participation.[1] To combat gender inequality in politics, the Indian Government has instituted reservations for seats in local governments.
Women turnout during India's 2014 parliamentary general elections was 65.63%, compared to 67.09% turnout for men. India ranks 20th from the bottom in terms of representation of women in Parliament.[2] The Constitution of India attempts to remove gender inequalities by banning discrimination based on sex and class, prohibiting human trafficking and forced labor, and reserving elected positions for women.
The Government of India directed state and local governments to promote equality by class and gender including equal pay and free legal aid, humane working conditions and maternity relief, rights to work and education, and raising the standard of living.[3] Women were substantially involved in the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century and advocated for independence from Britain. Independence brought gender equality in the form of constitutional rights, but historically women's political participation has remained low.[4]
Between the First Lok Sabha (1952) and the Sixteenth Lok Sabha (2014) women’s representation has increased from 4.4 per cent to 11.9 per cent (Chart 1). Similar trend of low representation of women is also observed in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) during the entire period of post-independence era. Women’s representation in Rajya Sabha has increased from 6.9 per cent in 1952 to 11.4 per cent in 2014 (Chart 2). Again, these figures are substantially lower compared to the global average of 22.9 per cent and Asian average of 16.3 per cent of women representatives in Upper House. Considering the share of women (49.5%) in the total population of India, their representation in Parliament represents a skewed statistic, which does not befit the world’s largest democracy.
India’s performance on female representation in parliament is also not satisfactory compared to the global average of 23.4 per cent and Asian average of 19.6 per cent of women’s representation in parliament, as shown in the Women in Politics Map 2017.
In this global mapping, India’s 148th rank is very low; and even several Asian countries, viz., Nepal (48th), Afghanistan (54th), Pakistan (89th), Bangladesh (91st), United Arab Emirates (96th), and Saudi Arabia (98th), among others, have fared far better than India.
Out of 47 Asian countries, India holds the 31st position. Among 8 SAARC countries, India’s position is 5th and India holds the 4th rank among 5 BRICS countries. A relatively poor performance is evident, if India (11.9 per cent) is compared to the best performer Rwanda (61.3 per cent) in terms of women’s representation in the parliament.
As per the situation on January 1, 2017, it was observed that in 12 countries (out of 193) women’s representation in parliament was 40 per cent or more (see Chart 4 for details). Rwanda tops the list with 61.3 per cent women representation in the parliament.
Thus, it is evident that despite our constitutional commitment and several global commitments, India’s performance in political empowerment of women is dismal. However, since the early 1990’s, the 73rd and 74th amendments, which entail 33 per cent reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies, facilitated the entry of lakhs of women in the political arena. During the next two decades, there has been a dramatic change in women’s representation in local administration. It is also a positive sign to note that many states, namely, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tripura further raised the women’s reservation level to 50 per cent. Resultantly, it has brought more than 1 million women as elected representatives, including many from socially disadvantaged groups and even illiterate, into the political decision making process.
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