Sapna Sangra
The new parliament building has enshrined a whole new beginning for Indian women with the passing of the historic Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023 (Women’s Reservation Bill) by the Lok Sabha. Introduced as the 81st Amendment in September 1996 by the Deve Gowda-led United Front Government in the Lok Sabha, the Bill has had a 27-year journey with more lows than highs. It had several failures and lapses and was even torn-to bits. Several reintroductions and rejections have all been there throughout its history. However, a notable shift took in its favor over these years. The BJP promised 33% reservation for women in its manifesto in 2014 and repeated the promise in its agenda in 2019. After the nod from the Union Cabinet on September 18, the Bill once again got introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 19 and on September 20, the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed in the special session of Parliament by the Modi Government. According to the Law Ministry notification on September 29, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Bill that will now be known as the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act as some proposed constitutional amendments are yet to be passed by the Parliament.
While the Bill is likely to become a reality once Census and delimitation exercise is completed, one wonders what this reservation entails for Bharat ki Nari. Is her reality going to be any different from what it is today? Does this reservation merely give hope? Is there anything in this beyond a decent political gesture, or tokenism so to say?
I see a major shift happening for Indian women within the political and social spectrum as both are closely interlinked and one is the reflection of the other. There is no denying the fact that women’s participation in local politics – in Municipalities or Municipal Corporations in cities and towns as well as PRIs in rural areas has already given some impetus to women’s participation in the political process that needs to be strengthened further to ensure gender equity.
The key parameters to reflect on women’s political empowerment today include women’s role as political workers, as women voters, as women contestants, and as women representatives. Various studies have indicated that women’s participation in political activities like joining election rallies, conducting door-to-door campaigns, distributing election pamphlets, and collecting election funds have increased in the last three decades. The 2019 elections also clearly indicated the growing power of women voters as more women (67.18%) than men (67.01) voted. The number of women candidates contesting Lok Sabha too has gone up substantially from 45 in 1957 to 716 in 2019 in which, of the total 8,049 candidates in the fray, less than 9% were women.
While women’s representation in the parliament is the key indicator of gender equality in Indian politics, it also mirrors her position in our social structure which is inherently patriarchal. Women constitute about half of the country’s population, but their political participation not being significant indicates their exclusion and political marginalization. At present, there are only 82 women in the Lok Sabha which amounts to 15% of its members. A closer look at the electoral history of our country explicitly indicates that the share of women parliamentarians has never exceeded the 15% mark in the last seventy years. After implementation of the Bill, there should at least be 181 women members in the lower house and 1374 women Legislatures in 4123 State Assemblies seats in 28 States. This mighty presence of women on the political front will have a direct bearing on their socio-cultural and economic sphere.
The patriarchal social structure together with caste, class, religious, and regional intersections have debarred women from politics and public life. Needless to say, they have been excluded and marginalized and their contribution and presence have deliberately been undermined and negated leading to a hierarchy where women are placed below men. Be it education, employment, ownership of property, sexual and reproductive health, or legal protection – women have been conveniently sidelined. Even if they are present, they are relegated to secondary positions. Their presence in managerial positions for example is only 15.9%. Systemic unequal access in these vital realms has led to their capability deprivation. To ensure gender equity in all domains, therefore, political reservation for women is the first and most effective step that will start giving dividends if operationalized effectively and cautiously. Various studies on the significance of women’s representation in Panchayats have indicated that female leaders are more likely to allocate resources toward public goods relevant to the local female population. As such, women-led development is the most sustained development and can pave the way for better and more egalitarian societies.
The challenges, however, are writ large. The most prominent one is again going to be from within the patriarchal political structure. The apprehension of political elite now ruling through their biwis-betis-bahus (wives-daughters-daughters-in-law) cannot be ruled out. To what extent we handle this to ensure the benefit of reservation reaches the deserving women representing all shades and sections of society is something to be seen in the times to come. For now, let’s recognize that the Modi government has delivered on its promise and this only speaks about its commitment to empower women and bring them to the mainstream.
(The author teaches Sociology at the University of Jammu).
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