Political Participation of Women in India

In India, as opposed to men, political participation by women is not magnificent and this is the circumstance in most countries around the globe. The political engagement of women is now emboldening relative to older days and it remains better than ever. But women with decision-making rights in India invariably come from urban and elite classes. Also today, women’s presence is far from adequate in the Indian Parliament. Women in the legislative bodies have been seeking more space. Democratic engagement includes the exercise of the right to vote, the sharing of authority, political party membership, co-decision-making, electoral campaigning, co-policy-making, participation in public gatherings, retaining party offices, contesting votes at all stages of state government. Simply stated, it is a mechanism in which people play a role in political life in defining and evaluating the best path to accomplish the shared aims of society. The roots of women’s political participation can be outlined back to the progressive movements of the 19th century. Social reformers such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Rajaram Mohan Roy, Behramji Malabari, and Mahadeva Govinda Ranade, claimed that by raising consciousness and educating women, social evils could be eradicated. In addition to having the right to vote, electoral engagement also requires having political awareness, decision-making capabilities, and running for elections. Different steps have been taken by the Government of India, such as reservations for women in Parliament, the financing of women politicians, etc. These steps, however, are not adequate to combat the legacy of gender inequality. When it comes to political engagement, women in India face multiple obstacles. Sexual harassment and sexism are the main obstacles. Dalit women are pressured to stand out from the polls by threats of abuse even after making reservations. For these women, running for elections is a long journey, since they are not even authorized to have their constitutional right to vote. Illiteracy is the second biggest obstacle. The majority of women in India are ignorant of their rights and laws. They are aware of the challenges of a micro-level economy, which adds to their resourcefulness and talents but having no understanding of the economic problems of the macro-level leaves women at a disadvantage. This results in other persons deciding their choices for them and so their decision is widely influenced by the male population, even if women vote. To resolve these obstacles, the government has to take action. The first step may be to invest in more productive ways of improving overall female literacy. In rural areas, special campaigns and workshops can be carried out that raise consciousness among rural women of their rights, current economic conditions, solutions, etc. In these regions, political parties should advertise to clarify their proposals and advantages in conversational terms so that women can, without any influence, make an educated voting decision. They should empower women to come out and chat about social challenges, the problems they face regularly, and get their thoughts on potential solutions to fix those problems. It should be encouraged that women from the lower castes not only come forward to vote but also stand in local elections. The foundation founded during the national revolution allowed women to participate after independence in the democratic process. The government of India has taken numerous legislative, social, and economic steps to increase the status of women in India since independence. In national and state politics, women have started to engage. After freedom, the first legislature had very few women (about 2 percent) present. Masuma Begum, who later became the Minister of Social Welfare, Renuka Ray, a veteran social worker, was a female member; Durgabai, a veteran Gandhian, Radhabai Subbarayan, was assigned to the First Round Table Conference as a delegate. Men in the assembly listened closely to the speeches made by women, as per separate accounts. In 1947, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur became the Health Minister of the Union. Sucheta Kriplani became Secretary-General of Congress in 1959, Minister of Labor of Uttar Pradesh in 1962, and then Chief Minister of the Unified Province from 1963 to 1967. Vijayalakshmi Pandit was chosen as a delegate to the UN, and in 1947 he was appointed ambassador to the former USSR and later ambassador to the US. She was later elected in 1953 as President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Women began holding 4-5 percent seats in the Lok Sabha in subsequent elections until the 1980s, during which their numbers soared to 7-8 percent. Women held 7-10% of the seats in the Rajya Sabha. The number of women represented in the 16th Lok Sabha is 61. This is traditionally the largest. At present, Rajya Sabha is made up of 29 women. In the current administration, six of the 23 Cabinet ministers are women, claiming a share of almost 25 percent. 

For the following factors, women who displayed their courage during the struggle for independence find it impossible to gain ground in electoral politics:

• The Party Backing Issue: The political parties are hesitant to provide female candidates with more seats. Women are not in a position to shift societal views towards women.
• Women have begun to hate the hard life given by politics. While many are willing to withstand the difficulties of political life, the prevailing perceptions and perceptions regarding the role of women in society have not been able to alter. Some women have expressed their disdain for the democratic arena and have opted for social care jobs to offer a gentler working climate.
• The cultural atmosphere places the utmost focus on men. In addition to criminalizing politics and the political climate, the main factors of marginal representation of women in politics are volatility and personality characteristics.

On the global stage, too, there are only a few countries where women are as interested in politics as men. Women’s presence in the decision-making process is substantial in countries like Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. With 47 percent female participation, Sweden has nearly comparable female parliamentary participation, led by Cuba and Iceland. In Nordic countries (42.5 percent), women’s representation in parliament is largest, followed by Asia (18 percent), America (22 percent), Sub-Saharan Africa (18 percent), the Pacific (15 percent), Europe (19.5 percent), and finally in Arab countries (9.4 percent). Until it has a 50-50 balance with both genders in both chambers, India will not be legally empowered. The dilemma cannot be fixed by simple minimum reservations and broad campaigning. We ought to modify our female leadership philosophy. Not only can people be happy with the first female minister, but it’s also about time we start calling for more and celebrate the fair representation of men and women in parliament.

“Achieving gender equality entails the rendezvous of women and men, girls, and boys. It is everyone’s accountability.”

By Sofia Khanam