India

Tamil Nadu just elected a new force.

For 15 years, Mamata Banerjee and her regional Trinamool Congress (TMC) party seemed to embody a political law of India's West Bengal state: they always found a way to survive.

On Monday, that ended.

SHUNTED TO THE back, the men must wait their turn. At an election rally on the outskirts of Kolkata, in the state of West Bengal, an all-female marching group leads the way.

The Women’s Quota Act of 2023 has officially been implemented, marking a significant step towards increased representation of women in legislative bodies.

The discourse surrounding the Women’s Reservation Bill, or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, shows how masculine politics has weaponised women’s issues.

The Indian government is seeking to expedite the implementation of a 2023 law that reserves 33 percent of seats in parliament and state assemblies for women, but has linked the move to a sweeping redrawing of parliamentary constituencies, sharpening political tensions.

Women voters have become a central point of discussion in elections in India in recent times.

THRISSUR: Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai, Dr Mary Punnen Lukose, Ammu Swaminathan, Kuttimalu Amma, Accamma Cherian, Dakshayani Velayudhan, O Aisha Beevi, K R Gouri Amma…. These are some women luminaries who shaped Kerala’s socio-political trajectory.