Women Representation In Politics- Step Towards “Gender Parity”
I.
Introduction
“We employ least, those whom we educate most”. We see this to be particularly true when we look at the comparatively poor record we have in India in advancing women to the most senior decision-making positions. We, in India, have an appreciable educated female population currently; however we do not use this talent to the best effect. road psychological research as of late demonstrates that decisions made through the coordinated coordinated effort of the two genders are the best decisions. decisions. !et !et numerous numerous associatio associations ns still still don"t sufficiently sufficiently sustain sustain or nurture their female female ability ability and talent to guarantee guarantee that there there is gender gender balance balance in senior senior admini administr strati ation on positi positions ons.. #adies #adies are still still underunderrepresented on $tate and corporate boards. %ender parity in politics can be characteri&ed as the determination to guarantee e'uivalent access to elected office for both Women and men. %ender (arity is an answer for different types of resistance that bar women from accomplishing more noteworthy obligations and responsibilities, especially in the political circle. )ending to e'uivalent participation in decision making is acknowledging the privileges of women and men to partake and have a voice in arrangements strategies and decisions influencing their future. $uch participation is e*tensively comprehended to incorporate social, political and financial investment and re'uires a dynamic part by all sub+ects of society, including women, to shape their future. )he )he conc concep eptt of empo empowe werm rmen entt is base based d on the the enha enhanc ncem emen entt of wome women n participation in the political arena. It attends to the totality of having decision making power of the women. In the present situation, the participation of women in the politics is impera imperativ tivee for their their overal overalll libera liberatio tion, n, strengt strengthen hening ing and empowe empowerme rment. nt. )he study study uncovers the past and in addition the current political status of women.
II.
Women and Politics- A Historical Bac!round
)he Indian Woman"s entry into the political arena was more a matter of incident and accident than a matter of design and premeditation. It was integral to their traditional role of wife and mother. )he politics of Indian women, and the story of Indian women in politics, are such intimately interwoven factors, that it is indeed difficult to separately define the one from the other. )he participation of India women in political life can be traced back to their involvement in the organi&ations such as the harat $tree ahamandal, formed in / and focused on helping women escape oppression from men; Women"s Indian 0ssociation 1WI02, the 3ational 4ouncil of Indian Women 134IW2, and the 0ll India Women"s 4onference 10IW42 formed in 5, 67, 65, respectively. )he work of all these organi&ations was focused on the eradication of the social problems of women and their education. )he 0IW4 had adopted a strong nationalistic perspective as it felt that women needed e'ual rights to play their full and legitimate role in the national affairs, otherwise all other rights might become illusionary. If we look at the number of women elected to the assemblies, the number often appears larger than it is because of the personalities involved. )he first assembly had very few women, about 6 percent, but included asuma egum who later became the minister of $ocial Welfare and deputy leader of the 4ongress (arty; 8enuka 8ay, a veteran social worker; 9urgabai 9eshmukh, 4hair of the 4entral $ocial Welfare oard. 0ccounts from the time suggest that men in the assembly listened carefully to their speeches. III.Role o" Women In Politics- Present Position In India
9uring the recent election campaign, many political parties : including the rightwing indu nationalist <(, e*pressed a desire to strengthen women-friendly laws and address the stubborn gender imbalance that pervades the country=s political arena. >ven though women form close to half of the population of .6 billion, they are underrepresented in all political positions. 4urrently, there are only 7 women out of a total of ?@A (s that make up the lower house of parliament. )his was reflected in the recent 1 Ilina $en, BWomen"s (olitics in India= in 8aka 8a y 1eds2, Handbook of Gender 13ew 9elhiC
D*ford Eniversity (ress 6/62 p ?- ?AF
elections, during which only 7A6 women ran for office, compared to 5,?65 men6. )hus the actual representation in what is called Bthe world=s largest democracy= remains low. “)his is hardly proportional representation in the world=s largest democracy,” says 9elhi based sociologist 9r. (ratibha (ande, former professor at the 9elhi EniversityA. amta aner+ee, <.
instituted reservations for seats in local governments. )he 4onstitution 15Ard H 5@th 0mendment2 0ct 6, envisaged the reservation of seats for women in (anchayats H unicipalities@; these amendments were made in order to improve the position of women especially at the village level and thus, providing an opportunity to women in the political field. Women"s 8eservation ill or the )he 4onstitution 1/Fth 0mendment2 ill, is a pending bill in India which proposes to amend the 4onstitution of India to reserve AA per cent of all seats in the #ower house of (arliament of India, the #ok $abha, and in all state legislative assemblies for women. )he seats to be reserved in rotation will be determined by draw of lots in such a way that a seat shall be reserved only once in three 2 3eeta #al, BWomen=s (olitical 8epresentation #agging in India=
httpCJJwww.ipsnews.netJ6/@J/7Jwomens-political-representation-lagging-in-indiaJK accessed 6? Dctober 6/@ 3 Ibid
4 Lumar 3arender, BConstitutional Law of India = 1Maridabad C 0llahabad #aw 0gency 6//@2 76/
consecutive general elections. $ince, there will be more women participation in politics and society, reservation for women is e*pected to increase opportunity for women; the political, social and economical condition of women is e*pected to improve drastically as a result. #. International Initiati$es "or Promotin! Women's Role In Politics
)here e*ist a considerable number of internationally agreed norms and standards regarding leadership and political participation of women. With the Enited 3ations Drgani&ation=s founding 4harter its support for the women=s rights started. owever, it was during 5/s that the International feminist movement started to gain momentum when the %eneral 0ssembly declared 5? as the International Women=s !ear and first World 4onference on Women was organi&ed to be held in e*ico 4ity. In 5, the %eneral 0ssembly adopted the 4onvention on the >limination of 0ll Morms of 9iscrimination against Women 14>90W2, included commitments under 0rticle 5 on political and public life and 0rticle F on representation upholding women=s right to participate in the public life. )he Enited 3ations >conomic and $ocial 4ouncil 8esolution, / called on %overnments, political parties, trade unions, and professional and other representative groups for adopting a A/ percent minimum proportion of women in the leadership positions in order to achieve e'ual representation for women. BWomen=s (olitical (articipationN6st 4entury 4hallenges= was also the theme for a meet organi&ed by Enited 3ations 9evelopment (rogramme 1E39(2 in 3ew 9elhi. Women politicians and representatives of civil society from all regions were engaged by the meet, it concluded that women cannot reach full e'uality with men in any sphere until gender parity is reached in governance.? #I.(onclusion ) Su!!estions
0ccording to World >conomic Morum"s annual global gender gap inde* studies, India has ranked in top 6/ countries worldwide for many years, with th best in 6/A - a 5 8a+aput
(am BWomen=s (olitical (articipation in IndiaC 0n 0genda for >mpowerment= in (ramila Lapur 1eds2, Empowering the Indian Women, 1(ublication 9ivision, inistry of Information and road 4asting, %overnment of India 6///2 665-66F.
score reflecting more women"s participation in India"s political process than 9enmark, $wit&erland, %ermany, Mrance and Enited Lingdom7. Indian voters have elected women to numerous state legislative assemblies and national parliament for many decades. )he fact that women make up nearly 6? percent of the newly sworn-in cabinet augurs well for the women=s movement. )his is the first time India has had seven women ministers, with si* of them landing plum cabinet posts. )he development is sparking hopes that the country will take bigger steps towards correcting its gender imbalance in politics. oreover, increased involvement of women in decision making process with respect to social values, development directions and allocation of resources enables women to influence societal agendas and to help to set priorities. )here is a famous 'uote by argaret )hatcher that “In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.”
6
BWomen"s political participation in India= httpCJJen.wikipedia.orgJwikiJWomen"sOpoliticalOparticipationOinOIndiaK accessed 67 Dctober 6/@
Re"erences *. $en, I. 16/62. Women"s (olitics in India. In 8aka 8ay 1ed2, Handbook of
Gender 1pp. ?- ?AF2. 3ew 9elhiC D*ford Eniversity (ress. +. #al, 3. 16/@2.Women=s (olitical 8epresentation #agging in India. 8etrieved from httpCJJwww.ipsnews.netJ6/@J/7Jwomens-politicalrepresentation-lagging-in-indiaJ ,. Lumar, 3. 16//@2.BConstitutional Law of India=. 1p. 76/2 Maridabad C 0llahabad #aw 0gency. . 8a+aput, (. 16///2. Women=s (olitical (articipation in IndiaC 0n 0genda for >mpowerment. In (ramila Lapur 1ed2, Empowering the Indian Women 1pp. 665-66F2. (ublication 9ivision, inistry of Information and road 4asting, 5.
%overnment of India. Women"s political participation in India=. 8etrieved from httpCJJen.wikipedia.orgJwikiJWomen"sOpoliticalOparticipationOinOIndia.
