Hapless Participation of Women in Indian Politics

Buddhadev Nandi

“For me, a better democracy is democracy where women do not only have the right to vote and to elect but to be elected”

Michelle Bachelet (Head of UN women & two-time former President of Chile) In India the picture of women’s political participation in decision making process in the country is dismal. According to the Economic Survey 2018 though 49% of the total population of India constitutes women, their political participation is very low in comparison with most of the developing countries. As per the survey report Lok Sabha in 2017 had 64 MPs out of 542 MPs that constitute 11.8% of the total representatives, whereas, Rajya Sabha with 27 MPS out of 245 MPs projects almost the same miserable percentage which is almost 11%. The picture is more abysmal in state assemblies. As on Oct 2016, there were only 9% women MLAs out of 4118 MLAs across the country. In contrast Nepal has 32.8% and Bangladesh 20% representation of women in the Parliament.

The two major deterring factors that have been identified behind the minuscule number of women representatives in Indian politics are lack of confidence and finance. Their over dependence on male members of the society in everyday life generally make them disabled in decision making. Besides, a large number of women hardly being financially self-dependent do not enjoy the privilege of participating in politics infringing consent of the other male members of the family.

Feminine shyness which is considered in the patriarchal society as the ornament of a woman generally hinders on the way of a woman from active participation in politics. Despite having innate power of eloquence, natural shyness hinders on their way to become a successful public speaker. Lack of support from the electorates and the higher leadership of the concerned political parties are also responsible behind this deplorable situation.

Ever increasing criminalization and violence in politics are also the major factors that make women fight sigh of active participation in politics. They become the easy victims of physical and sexual violence of their male counterparts not only of the opposition political parties but also of their own ones. Martha C. Nussbaum opines, “In the larger society, violence and the threat of violence affects many women’s ability to participate actively in many forms of social and political relationship, to speak in public, to be recognized as dignified beings whose worth is equal to that of others.”

Illiteracy is another reason that has put women’s participation in Indian politics on the back burner. According to the UN report in January 2014 literacy among the women is 53.7% against 75.3% against men. Illiterate women in many cases cannot understand the political system and its complexities. Illiterate women are not paid dignity and respect in the political arena. Women are “persistently mocked and devalued in the panchayats if they are illiterate”. Caste-based discrimination is another major factor that discourages Dalit and Schedule Caste women to participate in active politics. Besides, women burdened with household duties get little time to spend in political organization. They are not allowed to stay out of home round the clock to keep mass contact which is the prerequisite of being a successful political leader.

Women’s political participation is urgently needed to focus on the legitimate demands of women’s rights and equality against any sort of discrimination imposed by the male-dominated society. Over the years women have been enjoying sub-human status in the society. Women’s representation in large number in politics has undoubtedly given the opportunity to bring about drastic changes especially in rural areas by underscoring their everyday issues including education, daycare, child care, vaccination, birth control, gender justice, right to property, control over resources, domestic violence, social and political discrimination and so on. Above all, a large section of women find a space in decision making process of the country.

Needless to say, substantial representation of women at local government levels has now brought about a significant revolution in the political empowerment of women society. The survey said, “There are 13.72 lakh elected women representatives (EWRs) in PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions) which constitute 44.2% of total elected representatives (ERs) as on Dec, 2017”. Besides, the survey added that women sarpanchs accounted for 43% of total gram panchayats (GPs) across the country.

They exhibit active leadership of women in local government. Despite all these, there are some flip sides of the facts. In many cases elected women are found dictated by men who become the de facto political representatives. Women of the country were very optimistic when the 33% Women’s Reservation Bill passed in Rajya Sabha on 9^th March 2010. The present NDA government also in their election promise elevated the expectation of women with the rhetoric of ‘not 33 but 50%’. But the fact is that successive governments have shelved the Women’s Reservation Bill on the pretext of ‘lack of political consensuses’.