Role of Women in Indian

Politics

[Political Science-III]

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Shweta Rathore Ma’am Mehavsh
BALLB {Hons.} Sec. A
Roll No: 18041020130
Subject Code: BALB2002
 Role of Women in Indian Politics
ABSTRACT
Political participation of women in any country gives an overview of how
women are treated in society. The development of any country also depends on
the equal participation of men and women.

Indian political system gives same powers and roles to the men and women
irrespective of their gender. India had Ms Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister
of the country for around 15 years. Many states had and have women Chief
Ministers. The names of External Affairs Minister Shrimati Sushma Swaraj,
Lok Sabha Speaker Ms Sumitra Mahajan ,INC President Ms Soniya Gandhi,
Late Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha, West Bengal’s CM Mamta Bannerjee ,former
Uttar Pradesh CM Sushri Mayawati , Present Rajasthan’s CM Ms Vasundhara
Raje Scindhiya ,don’t need any introduction. They had and have played
prominent and decisive role in the politics of modern India.

But when we do a reality check in the grassroots of the Indian political system
we can easily find the role of women is just restricted to a vote bank. Yes, the
government has done various measures towards this . The 73rd Constitutional
Amendment Act (Statutory provisions for Panchyat Raj as third level of
administration in villages) and the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act
(Statutory provisions for Local Administrative bodies as third level of
administration in urban areas such as towns and cities) provide for 50%
reservation in the both the bodies . This has also given rise to the participation
of women in the electoral process, but most of the time the elected women
representatives are puppets of their husbands or other male member of the
family.
The above picture seems gloomy, but various good aspects has also came out
with the increased participation of women . Last year in UP a 112 year old lady
became Gram Pradhan. We have many examples where many women have
come forward and chosen a path of development for themselves and the village
as a whole. Ms Chavi Rajawat , Sarpanch of Village soda, 60 km from Jaipur,
Rajasthan is well known for her development works in the village and
especially for women . She left her corporate job to serve the village . And the
election of 22 year old jeans clad Ms Pooja Singh Nagar (who is an engineer by
profession) in Morena , Madhya Pradesh which is one of the orthodox areas of
India. These women are inspirations for the generations to come.

India has taken a great leap in the role of women in politics since Independence
But there are still many areas where government and society need to transform
and work a lot. The number of women Member of Parliaments and Member of
Legislative Assemblies is still low. The Women Reservation Bill for 33 %
reservation for Women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies saw an
outrage by all the main parties in the Parliament. It now depends on the people
of India and especially women to work for their upliftment and for taking
decisive participation in Indian politics.

The making of the Constitution brought the women legal equality. Though the
constitutional provisions allowed the women to leave the relative calm of the
domestic sphere to enter the male-dominated political sphere, the involvement
of women in politics has been low key. This article enumerates the factors
which have resulted in a wide chasm between the 'dejure' and 'defacto' status of
political participation of women in India. Political participation is a complex
phenomenon, which can be comprehended by analyzing several factors. With a
purpose of studying this complex situation the article has classified the factors
into three categories - psychological variable, socio-economic variable and
political variable.
INTRODUCTION:

Political participation of women in any country gives an overview of how

women are treated in society. The development of any country also depends on
the equal participation of men and women. Since women’s presence is seemed
to be low in Indian politics, it is the duty of every human being to make them
aware of their rights and motivate them for participating in mainstream politics.
The constitution of India not only guarantees equality in society but also
suggests states to make special provisions for women. Women still are fighting
for equal status in society. Because of their low representation in Indian politics,
their issues and problems are generally unseen and unnoticed. Their genuine
demands are not raised before the decisions makers. Women need be dependent
to make their own decisions. The media plays a significant role in determining
how women in politics and decision-making bodies are viewed and perceived
by society in general. It does not only play an important role in shaping the
values of society but also reflects those values. It plays the role of an informer,
educator and a mediator for social change. To have strong democratic
governance, women’s equal participation is must and therefore their
contribution to this processes needs to be analyzed in the appropriate context by
the media. There cannot be a real democracy if the voices and issues of women
that constitute half the population of the country are ignored or sidelined. This
paper analyzes the role of media about women’s participation in national
politics and also analyzes whether or not women’s voices and issues are
articulated to the public as matters of importance.
Women leaders can be classified broadly into two groups:

Pallu groups or dynastic groups (Sonia Gandhi,Vasundhara Raje Scindhia,

Amma, Rabri Devi,Sheila dixit) having family ties.

Hysterical group: Mamta, Mayawati, late Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti In this is
broad generalization some have been left like Krishna tirath etc.

Among the Pallu groups the name which is most revered or has became
synonymous with Indian politics is Sonia Gandhi ,leaving her most of other
pallu group members aren't able to set their foothold ,this also clear by example
of Vadsundhra Raj who has been made scapegoat after the loss of BJP in state
assembly and lok sabha elections also Amma and Rabri are craving for power.

Talking of hysterical group on one hand Mayawati stands out clear winner as a
women who relies on vote bank of dalits , and is CM of most populated state of
country . Conversely, some like Mamta Banerjee are never able to outgrow their
rebel image and have become more or less a relic in the changed political
situation. The most interesting thing is that the Pallu group is no pushover.
Late Sushma Swaraj was like Rahul dravid of Indian team who never got what
they deserved but ,still she also showed her immaturity in politics when she
"threatened to shave off her head if Sonia had became the PM?"

What does seem to be the case is that - barring striking exceptions where
dynastic charisma is seen to matter more than anything else - most women
politicians have found it difficult to rise within party hierarchies, and have
managed to achieve clear leadership only when they have effectively broken out
and set up parties on their own.
Future of Women Politicians

That brings us to the larger question — the future of women politicians in India.
Is it too much of a coincidence that the women who really do well in politics are
only those who head political parties? After all, can anybody dictate terms to the
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati or the AIADMK supreme, J.Jayalalithaa,
or Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee? As for Ms Sonia Gandhi, well,
she runs nothing less than a political empire where the Congress Party is
concerned!

If we take other parties, particularly in the Hindi heartland, it will take a lot of
effort to even recall the names of prominent women politicians. A woman
playing a prominent role in Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party? Forget it. Lalu
Prasad's RJD got a woman chief minister in the form of Rabri Devi for very
obvious reasons — when Lalu faced corruption charges and had to step down,
he could trust none other than his wife Rabri.

That she did not even know the ABC of politics mattered. The lack of both
education and political training of any sort was clearly evident in the kind of
language she used and the charges she made against the Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar during the Lok Sabha election campaign. Ms Jaya Jaitley's tryst
with the Janata Dal (U) was a passing phase and she has faded into oblivion.
Today the party is led by Mr Sharad Yadav, famous for his balkati quote.
Conclusion:
Yet once these women become established as leaders, another peculiarly Indian
characteristic seems to dominate - that is the unquestioning acceptance by the
(largely male) party rank and file of the leader's decisions. One thing that is
missing here is the name of a woman from rural areas or from a general house
.But why is it so …? Reason is that general housewife focus on three issues:
healthcare, education, and the funds to make these two things happen.

On one hand, India falls in the lowest quartile with respect to the number of
women in parliment (9.1%,14th loksabha). Even Rawanda (56.7%), south
Africa (44.5%), Mozambique (34.8%) and many others have much more
women representatives, according to the UN's 2008 survey of women in
politics. That said the recently concluded 15th Lok Sabha elections have
delivered a record 59 women as members of Parliament, the highest since
independence, raising their parliamentary participation to 10.7%.

Seventeen of these women are under 40. And representation of women leaders
at the grassroots level in India is nearly 50%, especially since the passing of the
73rd amendment of 1992, which allotted one-third of all seats to women. The
panchayati raj, that bedrock of rural government, has fostered more and more
women participants and leaders. (A panchayat is a five-person elected village
council.)

Some states, like Karnataka, had inducted women into rural politics even before
it was mandated by the constitution. Several states, including Madhya Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and most recently, Uttarkhand, have allotted not just
the required 33% of panchayat seats for women but increased it to 50%.
In most parties, the women members are by and large thin on the ground if not
invisible in the actual decision-making bodies and rarely influence the more
significant party policies. Most often, indeed, they are relegated to the "women's
wing" of the party, and made to concentrate on what are seen as specifically
"women's issues" such as dowry and rape cases, and occasionally on more
general concerns like price rise which are seen to affect especially
"housewives".