Date : 18/09/2023

Relevance – GS Paper 2 – Social Justice

Keywords – Women’s empowerment, Loksabha, Gender Equality

Context

India's journey towards gender equality and women's empowerment has been long and challenging, especially in the realm of politics. The Women's Reservation Bill, which aims to reserve one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, has been a topic of discussion for years, and its significance cannot be overstated. Despite some recent progress, India still lags behind in terms of women's political participation when compared to many countries worldwide. To truly understand the importance of the Women's Reservation Bill, it is crucial to delve deeper into the current state of women's representation in Indian politics and the potential benefits that its enactment could bring.

The Global Gender Gap in Politics

Internationally, women's political engagement continues to trail that of men, with gender disparities varying across regions and over time. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union's data as of January 2023, women accounted for just 26.5 percent of parliamentarians worldwide, with a year-on-year growth rate of only 0.4 percentage points—the slowest increase in six years. Sadly, India ranks low in terms of women's political representation, standing at 143rd out of 187 countries. As of July 2023, India had only 15.2 percent women's representation in the lower house and 13.8 percent in the upper house of parliament.

The Gender Gap in India's Political Landscape

Within India, the gender gap in politics can be analyzed through three primary dimensions: women as voters, women as electoral candidates, and women as representatives in legislatures.

1. Women as Voters: Encouragingly, there has been a notable improvement in the gender gap between male and female voter turnout. The gap has reversed, with women turning out to vote at rates similar to men. This shift represents a "silent revolution of self-empowerment" among women, indicating a growing presence in the electoral process.

In 2019, men and women are at par in terms of voter turnout

2. Women as Electoral Candidates: However, the percentage of women contesting as candidates has only marginally increased, from around 6.11 percent in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections to approximately 9 percent in recent years. While the 2019 elections saw a historic high in the number of women elected to the lower house, there is still significant underrepresentation in legislative bodies across most Indian states.

3. Women as Representatives: Although 78 women secured seats in the lower house during the 2019 elections, a significant achievement that represented the highest percentage of female political leadership in India's history, there remains an outstanding issue. Women's underrepresentation persists in the legislatures of the majority of Indian states, with figures falling just below the 15 percent threshold, underscoring their limited access to equitable participation in the electoral process. Some states, like Mizoram and Nagaland (Nagaland recently got its first women MLA), have no women in political leadership positions, despite high female literacy rates. The participation of women in the Rajya Sabha has also been disappointing, with a decline in recent years.

The Case for the Women's Reservation Bill

The Women's Reservation Bill holds immense significance for several compelling reasons:

1. Promoting Gender Equality: Achieving gender parity in political representation is a cornerstone of a thriving democracy. Reserving one-third of seats for women would be a significant step towards realizing gender equality in Indian politics.
2. Overcoming Structural Norms: Structural norms and deep-rooted societal prejudices have historically hindered women's full participation in politics. The Women's Reservation Bill offers a means to break down these barriers by providing women with more opportunities to contest and win elections.
3. Encouraging Political Parties: Political parties play a pivotal role in fostering gender equality in politics. The bill would incentivize parties to allocate more tickets to women candidates, offer financial support for their campaigns, and provide mentorship and training.
4. Learning from Global Examples: Other countries, such as Rwanda, Cuba, and New Zealand, have successfully boosted women's representation in politics through gender mainstreaming processes. India can draw valuable lessons from these international experiences.

Reviving the languishing Women's Reservation Bill is paramount to advancing women's political empowerment, and political parties must arrive at a consensus on critical issues. This includes considering a sub-quota for minority groups within the broader women's quota or whether seats should be reserved on a rotational basis. If the bill is sacrificed once again, it risks perpetuating the historical prejudice against women participating in public life.

The Historical Perspective

The journey towards women's suffrage rights in India has seen remarkable progress, albeit with its fair share of challenges. Some of these gains in women's electoral participation have their roots in the Swadeshi Movement (1905-08) in Bengal, which marked the genesis of women's participation in the national struggle for independence. Another significant milestone was the National Perspective Plan for Women in 1988, which demanded the introduction of a 30 percent quota for women in all elective bodies. This demand eventually led to the adoption of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution in 1993, which established a 33 percent reservation for women in local governance.

Since 1995, there have been repeated attempts to pass a constitutional amendment bill reserving one-third of seats for women in Parliament. These attempts, introduced in 1998, 1999, 2008, and again in 2010, were regrettably unsuccessful and faded away with changing political regimes. However, one remarkable trend has been consistent: women have consistently won at a higher rate than men in every Lok Sabha poll since data compilation began in 1957.

Looking ahead to foot the bill

The pace of women's political representation has unfortunately lagged behind despite higher levels of education, political awareness, and employment opportunities for women. This discrepancy primarily arises from the persistence of patriarchal norms and societal structures. However, a window of opportunity is now opening up to close this gap, and it must be urgently translated into reality during the upcoming special parliamentary session.

The Advantages of Seat Reservation

The advantages of implementing seat reservation for women are numerous. It would influence how political parties navigate their recruitment processes, encouraging them to provide women with better access to campaign financing, secure workspaces, mentorship, and training, and place them in winnable positions.

Gatekeepers of Democracy: The Role of Political Parties

As gatekeepers of the world's largest democracy, political parties in India have a monumental responsibility. They must adopt a more inclusive and gender-sensitive approach to accelerate the pace of change and bolster women's agency in governance and leadership. Parties should allocate the requisite number of party tickets to women without falling into the trap of tokenism or dynastic politics. Numerous examples from around the world illustrate how women representatives have benefited from efforts to advocate gender mainstreaming processes in legislatures, including countries like Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand.

Conclusion

The Women's Reservation Bill is not merely a legislative proposal; it signifies a crucial step towards gender equality in India's political landscape. It addresses deeply entrenched structural norms and prejudices that have hindered women's participation in politics for generations. While there has been some progress in recent years, much more needs to be done to bridge the gender-political deficit in India.

As India strives to be a beacon of democracy, it must ensure that women have an equal and significant presence in decision-making processes. The Women's Reservation Bill can serve as a catalyst for change, fostering an inclusive and gender-sensitive approach within the political arena. It is high time for political parties to come together, reach a consensus on the bill's provisions, and prioritize its implementation. Failure to do so would not only impede progress but also perpetuate the historical injustice of gender underrepresentation in Indian politics. It is time to make history and empower women to rightfully

Source – ORF