Female Participation in Indian Politics: An Overview
July 17, 2021
The sub-index for political empowerment estimates the gap between women and men at the most significant level of political dynamic through the proportion of women to men in ministerial positions, the ratio of women to men in parliamentary positions, and the ratio of female to male heads of state in the past 50 years. Caste, class, and demographic differences need to be taken into high consideration if we opt to be conscious of the nuances of how and why women vote because these intersectionalities are majorly instrumental in defining the political aspirations that these women may have or may develop along with underlining the impact of female participation in Indian politics. Women’s existence and portrayal as citizens in political spaces is highly important on normative grounds of political consideration, inclusion, and on political economy aspects because it is likely to result in policy change. This report for India’s premier Think Tank, the Center for National Policy Research takes a holistic view of the issue and suggests follow-up models.
While most of the North Indian social evils against women were absent in South India, caste discrimination and gender inequality gradually penetrated Tamil Nadu’s societies. This led to unequal power divisions between the male and female populations. Cruelties like the dowry system and female feticide still occur in a progressive state like West Bengal which is more prevalent in the rural areas. Gender discrimination has been very significant in the economic and social dimensions of the state. On analyzing the election trend, West Bengal is the only state where female political representation has consistently increased since the late 1990s. Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool has been a pioneer of women’s inclusion in politics. Like other states of India, the women in Jammu and Kashmir remain under the dominance of men in the different aspects of life as in, socio-economic and political. Patriarchal culture is also followed by the Naga society with its deeply established traditional rules. These laws and practices still have a direct bearing on the lives of the Naga people though there is a blend of modernity to the traditional ways of life of the society.
Considering the global aspect in 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing nation where women got the right to vote in parliamentary elections. Though it took 26 years for women to contest in the elections, the wartime work of women in the public arena such as public sector workers and nurses were recognized and thus resulted in a renewed feminist activism where they were more valued and honored. The Rwandan genocide shows that women were clearly the largest victims of the conflict. Whether it is the national or international realm, patriarchy is a common enemy of all women across the world that rips them off their fundamental rights.
We know that when there is a higher percentage of female participation in Indian politics,, policy changes are not overtly significant but it does bring about a change. In India, women’s representation in local elected offices increased the provision of certain public goods like safe drinking water, sanitation, etc. Therefore, endeavors must be made for higher inclusion and better incorporation of women in the political sphere, but till the men are not sensitized and the social and structural hindrances are not shattered, there is a lengthy and very crude way ahead for their female participation in Indian politics.
When a woman is deprived of education, health, physical and economic resources, etc, the imbalance created abstains women from understanding and attaining the fundamental rights. Tamil Nadu has made reasonable efforts for the development of the position of women in the State. The sex ratio in Tamil Nadu has shown consistent lead than all-India average. The State Government in West Bengal is also developing a long-term strategy to involve various social protection schemes and modify them according to the needs of an evolving economy. On analyzing the election trend, West Bengal is the only state where female political representation has consistently increased since the late 1990s. However, women’s representation in politics in Jammu and Kashmir is considerably low. In the year 1972, four women candidates were elected to the state legislature making it the highest number of women legislators in the state to date. In the state of Nagaland, there are Self-Help groups that serve as a strong pillar in empowering the Naga women along with different schemes and programs implemented for the empowerment of women in Nagaland such as the Mission Poorna Shakti which has been oriented to strengthen women’s position in the areas of education, socio-economic and health care.
Taking an international example, the parliament of New Zealand stands out for its inclusivity of members of parliament; which consists of female members of parliament, indigenous members of parliament, and LGBTQ members of parliament. Even Rwanda’s leaders realized that the nation cannot be rebuilt solely by men’s labor. A new constitution was passed in 2003 with the country’s recovery from its post-genocide period that decreed a gender quota that mandated 30% of the parliament seats for women. Hence by using quotas, the Rwandan government is acknowledging the bipartisan nature of women in government.
