Women Representation in Democracy
The representation of women in democracy can be discussed in the following ways:
ECI on women’s representation in Politics
- According to the Election Commission of India’s report, women make up 10.5 percent of the Parliament’s overall membership.
- Women’s plight is much worse in state legislatures, where they make up roughly 9% of the elected officials.
- In the last 75 years of independence, women’s representation in the Lok Sabha has not even increased by 10%.
- In India’s major political parties, women employees abound, but they are frequently marginalized and denied a party ticket to run in elections.
- According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, India ranks 135th out of 146 nations in terms of educational attainment, indicating that education has a significant role in determining women’s political participation.
- Education has an impact on women’s social mobility.
Are women adequately represented in elected assemblies?
- Despite these increases, women’s participation in elected entities remains dismally low.
- In 1952, women made up 6% of the first Lok Sabha in India. Women’s representation in the Lok Sabha reached an all-time high of 12.15 percent in 2014, sixty-two years later.
- The situation is even worse at the state level, where women account for only 7.3 percent of the population.
- Some states, such as Nagaland and Mizoram, have no female legislators. Jammu and Kashmir (2.27 percent), Goa (2.5 percent), and Karnataka (2.5 percent) are the worst achievers (2.65 percent ).
- Haryana (14.44 percent) is India’s best-performing state, followed by West Bengal (13.95 percent), Rajasthan (13.48 percent), and Bihar (13.48 percent) (11 percent ).
Gender and Politics
The gender divide is commonly perceived as natural and irreversible. Rather than biology, it is founded on social expectations and preconceptions. The effect of this division of labor is that, despite accounting for half of humanity, women have a minor role in public life, particularly politics, in most nations. Only men were previously permitted to participate in public affairs, vote, or run for public office. Gradually, the question of gender became more prominent in politics. It advocated that women’s political and legal status be improved, as well as their educational and career prospects. Feminist movements are movements started by women to achieve equality in personal and family life.
Table of Content
- Political Representation of Women
- Women Representation in Democracy
- Reasons for Low Representation
- Special Initiatives for Women
- Steps Ahead
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