2 years, 8 months ago-
Yes, I totally agree with that factor that woman participation in politics and parliament are lesser than average. Though according to the data after establishment of women reservation , this range increase from 4-5% to 25-40%.which is absolutely a happy but not enough to be glad condition .
As you said in first place that yes, there should be reservation in politics. If women in India are lacking in politics then it’s major reason is our society who always suppressing women ,telling them they are inferior and not suitable as a governing body; patriarchy, continuously condemning women rights and opportunities; sexual harassment, as women get petrified in the name of being alone in your journey, taking risks, struggle for politics and development and how we can expect them not to be so, they are struggling at every street and corner just to come home safe. Yes, this is the actual face of democracy we’re living in. And in the terms of politics, male politicians really use this satanic actions to constraint a woman’s voice. However,there’s another reasons to be blamed too like illiteracy, not being brave enough to continue the struggle;gender discrimination, as women are taught about men’s role and women’s role in a society and they should never reverse it. Women never got the proper chance to claim their right. In that case, yes, women reservation is a form of necessity.
But according to the next statement, it’s also a Reverse discriminating thought that how can we reserve a seat while someone else is proficient for it. But it’s also necessary that our parliament needs more female spakers, otherwise the issues of women due to patriarchy or social discrimination is never gonna solved. Even it’s seen that due to female quota, husbands are ruling in the name of their wife.
So, according to me, whether quotas get improved or not, we should allow and inspire our future generations to take their step forward to prove and earn their seats. And for the government, they should take extreme care that not a single voice will be condemned.Women are highly underrepresented in the political stage, locally, nationally, and globally. World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021 identified that women represent only 26.1% of around 35,500 parliament seats in the 156 countries focused by the survey. The lack of parity in representation is even more accentuated in India. In the State polls of 2021 taken collectively, roughly one in ten candidates was a woman and this is something of grave concern.
Political parties lack enthusiasm when it comes to accommodating women. For instance, the qualifications of a prospective woman candidate is heavily scrutinised while her male counterparts hardly undergo such rigorous screening. Representation in politics, in most cases remains a matter of tokenism. The glass ceiling very much exists in the political arena as well, where women find it difficult to progress beyond a certain level.
India’s political environment is certainly toxic to women. Politicians don’t shy away from misogynistic comments, the most shocking aspect of which is that they are unapologetically made out in the open. Even in heated exchanges between male politicians, it is often the women of the opponent’s family that is vulgarly attacked. The underlying notion is that a man’s honour rests on woman, and attacking his female relatives becomes an ultimate weapon of insult. While this toxic misogyny greatly discourages women participation, those who manage to venture in to politics against family pressures are denied equal opportunities.
Reservation for women in the parliament does ascertain a reduction in the gender gap. Why do men have to stand for women’s issues, when women can do it themselves, perhaps more effectively? It is an incident of epistemic violence where the ‘One’ imposes a narrative on the ‘Other’. It is only right that women articulate their own needs because they have voices of their own and can stand up for themselves. They do not require political intervention but fair representation.This is, however, in no way a panacea. There exists a caveat.
‘I endured the personal humiliation of being vilified as a madwoman with strange hair—you know what that means—a strange name and strange ideas, ideas like democracy freedom and fairness that mean all people must be equally represented in our political process’
This statement by Lani Guinier, a revered American civil rights theorist and a strong advocate of proportional representation in voting systems, is a litmus test indicating the misogyny and solidified majoritarian ethos of the American political system. India is no different. Women cannot be truly represented, even if effective reservations are in place, unless patriarchy loosens its grip on the society. To explicate, let us imagine an electoral constituency reserved for women candidates. With the majority of its population being patriarchal, the candidate who most agrees with these sentiments is bound to win. What we’ll end up with is the success of an individual woman who would ultimately reinforce the existing gender gap.
It is clear that the issue must be tackled cohesively, where political, social and cultural revisioning collaborate to effect equal outcome. On the political front, proportional reservation still remains a necessity.
We have often heard people saying “politics is not for women. It’s just simple for a woman to handle her responsibilities at home and leave the politics to men. The social costs of ancient Indian society tend to straightjacket elite women into domestic roles, denying them entry into the political sphere. But defying these goals in any women played indirectly and sometimes even director roles in the exercise of political power. The ancient Indian text Arthashastra acknowledges women’s political agency. In the Mahabharata, Draupadi plays an active role in the debate to decide whether the Pandavas should go to war or not. In ancient Tamil Sangam poetry, we see evidence of women as ambassadors, advisors and even bodyguards and throne guards under Chola rule. Centuries later, in Mughal India too we see evidence of wives and mothers of nawabs playing a prominent role in politics.
Several things changed with the birth of print media in India and women’s public participation in India’s first debates, on law and reform, related to the age of consent and child marriage. The nationalist movement too encouraged the participation of women especially after the agitations against the partition of Bengal in 1905. Between 1920 and 1929 all British provinces in India decided to give women the right to vote. However, this was the right enjoyed by just 1% of women. It was only after the drafting of the Constitution in 1947 that all women could vote. Even the women, they were still not holding many political leadership roles. Even today, women make up just about 13% of the parliament, why the global average is around 20 to 25%. It’s been 25 years since for reservation 33% of seats for women in the parliament was introduced, but it is yet to be passed. Most National and regional parties don’t give more than 20% of MLA and MP tickets to women. This attitude stands from a monolithic patriarchal mindset, according to which only men can be capable of being good leaders. We reinforce this mindset from a very young age. The notion of politics being a ‘dirty game’ plays a huge part in families and their support system finding it dangerous or unsafe for your to get into politics. This cycle of politics continued to be male-dominated. Everything female politicians do or say comes under scrutiny. They are far more prone to sexualisation and derogatory remarks about their merit and demeanour. It is established and growing evidence that women’s leadership in politics improves governance, by increasing responsiveness to citizens’ needs, by improving cooperation between political parties, and by prioritising long-term development through education and healthcare.According to the 2021 edition of the UN-IPU Women Map for Politics, despite the increasing numbers of women with the highest levels of political strength, severe gender inequities continue to exist. New data for women as of January 1st, 2021 is available on the IPU-UN Women’s Map. The data reveal all-time highs for the number and global proportion of women’s ministers in nations with female heads of state or government. However, the figure for women ministers after the map of last year showed a rise of 21.3% – just slowing growth – up to barely 21.9% on 1 January 2021. The global rise of women legislators in 2020 was similarly slower, as evidenced by last week’s IPU annual report on women in parliament. The total share of women in national parliaments as of 1 January 2021 was 25.5%, slightly up from 24.9% a year ago. Although the total number of states with no ministers of women climbed to 12 as of 1 January 2021 compared to nine same times last year, throughout all regions. As of January 2021, Azerbaijan’s, Armenia’s, Brunei Darussalam, Korea’s, South Arabia, New Guinea’s, Saudi Arabs, Thailand, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Viet Nam have not received women’s services in the governments. Women’s full and active involvement in legislatures equal to men is not simply a goal in itself, but a vital one in the development and support of democracies. It is crucial for women to have an equal presence, leadership, and perspective in parliaments so that they can meet their requirements more effectively.
It’s a clear reminder of the continuing and pervasive nature of gender discrimination that women hold just one-quarter of legislative seats worldwide. It also shows the dynamics of power in society. Nevertheless, some may wonder why if there are more women lawmakers and leaders? Why are all elements of the political process needing more women involved? The interests and priorities of individuals are typically influenced by their social, economic, and ethnic disparities. Therefore, female legislators from different backgrounds can analyze a wide range of topics and provide appropriate answers. Moreover, every democratic system benefits from the fact that individuals are represented inside their political institutions from various backgrounds and life experiences. In order to develop a policy for the advancement of everything, we can draw on the complete diversity of capabilities and skills in the population. Equity and human rights are the cornerstones of a democratic society. Secondly, the broad representation of women in parliaments has a significant impact on the issues and the formulation of policy. Thirdly, it provides space for reform and revision of discriminatory legislation against girls and women.
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