Why in the News?
The new Rajya Sabha panel of Vice-chairpersons shall now constitute
50% women MPs nominated from among the members of the house.
Status of Women Representation in the
Parliament:
1.
Presently, there are 78 women MPs in Lok Sabha which is
considered as the highest number in the history of the House, given the first
LS only had 24 women members. However, the strength represents only ~14% of the
total membership of the house, which falls way short of the international
average of nearly 22%
2.
Global data on National Parliamentarians by the
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU):
India globally ranks 148th in a list of
193 countries vis-à-vis women’s representation in Parliament.
Women Reservation Bill:
1.
The
bill was introduced in the Parliament in 1996 during the government led by HD
Deve Gowda.
2.
The
bill seeks to provide 33% reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and all
Legislative Assemblies of the State and a quota for SC/STs within the ambit.
3.
The
seats would only be reserved once in every three consecutive general elections.
4.
The
bill was later reintroduced in the Rajya Sabha but is kept still pending in the
Lok Sabha.
What is the rationale in bringing women
reservation in the parliament?
1.
The
bill seeks to empower women who remain marginalised in the political discourse.
2.
It
shall pave way for a New Egalitarian society that envisages equal rights for
both men and women as endorsed by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) to achieve gender equality
3.
Women-centric
policy making and holding government accountable in women-related issues can
become effective with more representation of women in the parliament.
4.
The Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), considered an International Bill of
Rights for women, in Article 7 upholds women’s right to hold political and
public office.
5.
Creates conditions for a revitalised
democracy that bridges the gap between representation and participation
Challenges in Women’s Representation in the
Parliament:
1.
Inaccessibility
of Institutions
a.
Political
tickets offered women candidates are less as this is a highly centralised
process in a political party.
b.
Large
section of women who win parliamentary tickets have family political connections, or are ‘dynastic’
politicians.
c.
In political circles, it has been widely
held that women candidates are less likely to win elections than men, which
leads to political parties giving them fewer tickets.
d.
The male-dominated party structures in
India dominated by patriarchal mindsets make it difficult for women politicians
to obtain party nominations to fight parliamentary elections
2.
Non-facilitating Structural Conditions:
a.
Election campaigns in India are
extremely demanding and time-consuming and women candidates face problems such
as,
i.
Family commitments
ii.
Responsibilities of child-care
iii.
A male-dominated political party
structure
iv.
Women are subjected to humiliation,
inappropriate comments, abuse and threats of abuse
v.
Parliamentary elections can be extremely
expensive, and massive financial resources are required and its is challenging
to arrange for own campaign financing when party power do not support
financially.
vi.
Threat of criminalised politics is high,
where the role of muscle power becomes paramount and offering unfavourable
conditions for women participation.
vii.
Women themselves can be influenced by
patriarchal societal norms, a phenomenon known as ‘internalised patriarchy’
where many women consider it their duty to prioritise family and household over
political ambitions.
What are the Criticisms involved?
1.
Reservation for women would perpetuate the unequal status of
women since they would not be perceived to be competing on merit.
2.
The bill also diverts attention from the larger issues of
electoral reform such as criminalisation of politics and inner party democracy.
3.
Political reservation has increased redistribution of
resources in favour of the groups that benefit from reservation.
4.
Reservation of constituencies for women will result in them
not being considered for general seats, despite their competency.
5.
Women elected under reservation invest more in the public
goods closely linked to women’s concerns rather than for whole-of-the-society.
The
issue of proxy representation where women
elected to office were being largely “controlled” by their male family members
shall surface, an issue widely seen in local governments that has the 33%
reservation policy for women brought through the 73rd and 74th
amendments to the Constitution.
