Representation of Women for the upcoming Lok Sabha
India has elected 74 women to the Lok Sabha this year, four fewer than in 2019 and 52 more than in the first elections in 1952. These 74 women comprise only 13.63% of the Lower House, significantly lower than the 33% that will be reserved for women after the next delimitation exercise.
Slow Progress
- The gender composition of the Lok Sabha has generally trended towards increased women's representation over the years, though progress has been slow and inconsistent. In 1952, women constituted just 4.41% of the Lower House.
- This percentage rose to over 6% in the subsequent decade's election but fell below 4% in 1971, despite Indira Gandhi, India's first and only female Prime Minister, being in power. Since then, women's representation has gradually increased, crossing the 10% mark in 2009 and reaching a peak of 14.36% in 2019.
- However, India still falls behind several countries, where 46% of MPs in South Africa, 35% in the UK, and 29% in the US are women
- The bill proposes to reserve 33% of all seats in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) and state legislative assemblies for women
- The reserved seats for women will be rotated after every general election, ensuring that different constituencies are reserved for women in successive elections
- Within the 33% reservation, there will be sub-quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in proportion to their population.
- The reservation for women will be applicable for 15 years from the commencement of the amendment, after which it can be reviewed
- The primary aim of the bill is to enhance the representation of women in legislative bodies, ensuring their participation in the political process and decision-making at higher levels
- The rotation mechanism ensures that no specific constituency is permanently reserved, providing an opportunity for women candidates across different regions to participate
- Apart from the Lok Sabha, the bill also seeks to reserve one-third of the seats in state legislative assemblies for women.
- The bill has faced both support and opposition, with debates centering on the need for such a reservation, potential impacts on male candidates, and concerns about whether it will truly empower women or just create tokenism
- The bill requires a constitutional amendment, which means it must be passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament and ratified by at least half of the state legislatures.
- Out of the 74 women elected to the Lok Sabha, 43 are serving as MPs for the first time, including Misa Bharti from the RJD, who is a first-time Lok Sabha MP. This 59% of newcomers among women MPs surpasses the overall percentage of new MPs in the House, which is 52%.
- On average, women MPs have only 0.76 terms of experience in the Lok Sabha (one term being typically 5 years).
- The average age of women MPs is 50 years, making them younger than the overall House average of 56 years.
- They are equally educated as their male counterparts, with 78% having completed undergraduate degrees.
- In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, approximately 10% of the 8,360 candidates were women, up from 3% in 1957.
- This marks the first time the proportion of women candidates reached 10%. Around 16% of the BJP’s candidates and 13% of Congress candidates were women, both higher than the overall average
Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have chosen to implement legislative measures to improve women's representation in their legislatures, resulting in better outcomes.
- In Pakistan, 17% of the seats in the national assembly are reserved for women.
- Bangladesh has allocated 50 out of 350 seats in its Jatiya Sangsad for women.
- Nepal reserves 33% of its total seats for women.
In contrast, some countries do not have legislated quotas but require political parties to allocate a certain percentage of tickets to female candidates. Examples include:
- Australia, where women hold 38% of parliamentary seats.
- Canada, with 31% female representation.
- South Africa, where women make up 45% of the parliament.
- Sweden, with 46% women in parliament.
These countries achieve over 30% women representation without legislatively mandated quotas, relying instead on party policies
6. Way Forward
These examples illustrate a variety of approaches to increasing women's political representation, ranging from mandatory legislative quotas to voluntary party policies. The effectiveness of these measures depends on the political context and the commitment of political parties to gender equality
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Mains Practice Questions 1.Examine the trends in women's representation in the Lok Sabha over the decades. How has the legislative approach in neighboring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan influenced their progress in women's political representation? 2.Analyze the impact of first-time women MPs on the legislative process in the Lok Sabha. Discuss the significance of their relatively lower average age and level of education compared to their male counterparts. 3.Evaluate the effectiveness of political party quotas versus legislated quotas in enhancing women's representation in legislatures. Use examples from countries such as Australia, Canada, South Africa, and Sweden to support your argument |
