Women’s representation in India’s parliament: Measuring progress, analysing obstacles
Source: Observer Research Foundation
Women’s representation in India’s Parliament is an important metric to evaluate progress in bridging gender inequities in the country. India has a female population of 662.9 million and is the largest and one of the most resilient parliamentary democracies in the world. As the country completes 75 years of independence, this paper gives a historical account of the progress in women’s representation in Parliament over the past decades. It compares women’s parliamentary representation with their share in legislative positions at the lower levels. It notes that despite impressive increase in turnout of women voters in elections, opening up spaces for participation of women in electoral politics has been a slow process as a result of deep-rooted structural constraints. It argues that institutional transformation, coupled with socio-economic emancipation holds the key to increased participation by women in electoral politics.
Click here to read the full article published by Observer Research Foundation on 16 November 2022.
Women’s representation in India’s Parliament is an important metric to evaluate progress in bridging gender inequities in the country. India has a female population of 662.9 million and is the largest and one of the most resilient parliamentary democracies in the world. As the country completes 75 years of independence, this paper gives a historical account of the progress in women’s representation in Parliament over the past decades. It compares women’s parliamentary representation with their share in legislative positions at the lower levels. It notes that despite impressive increase in turnout of women voters in elections, opening up spaces for participation of women in electoral politics has been a slow process as a result of deep-rooted structural constraints. It argues that institutional transformation, coupled with socio-economic emancipation holds the key to increased participation by women in electoral politics.
Click here to read the full article published by Observer Research Foundation on 16 November 2022.