State the improvement of the status of women as a result of reservation of seats in local government.
Answers
Explanation:
Even though a significantly large number of women vote in the country, yet only a few of them assume the reins of power. Gender inequality leading to deprivation of power among women continues to be a political reality in India today. Although the Constitution of India attempts to remove gender inequalities by interdicting discrimination based on sex and class, and enshrining fundamental rights for all citizens, women still have only de jure rather than de facto access to political representation. There is no denying the fact that greater participation of women in the political process would be a precondition for their economic and social emancipation.
How the reservation of seats for women in the institutions of LSGs plays an important role in the political empowerment of women:
LSG institutions are a watershed in India‘s democratic history as they not only percolated democratic decentralization to the grass-root level but also made a giant leap in women empowerment by granting them 33% reservation restoring its faith in women leadership.
The recent Economic Survey states that there were 13.72 lakh elected women representatives (EWRs) in LSGs, which constitute 44.2 percent of total elected representatives (ERs) as of December 2017.
Women Sarpanchs accounted for 43 percent of total gram panchayats (GPs) across the country by December 2018.
This is a testimony to the active leadership of women in local government.
They are bringing their experience in the governance of civil society making the state sensitive to the issues of poverty, inequality and gender injustice, thus influencing the decision-making process, planning, implementation and evaluation of various developmental programs at the local level.
It also provided an opportunity to hitherto deprived low caste women to participate in the mainstream political processes. Its spiral effect boosted women’s confidence in their abilities and encouraged them to seek a meaningful role in society.