Today, 8th March, is being celebrated as International Women's Day to bring focus on gender equality. Although we may take pride in the fact that Indian Women have occupied the positions of Prime Minister to President, and a good number of them have been Chief Ministers too, yet the representation of women in our Parliament/Assemblies is abysmally low.
The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, which proposes 33% Reservation for Women candidates in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies has been stalled for more than 4 years now in the Lok Sabha. And looking at the problems the bill poses with respect to rotation of the reserved seats, it does not seem to be a very practical solution to increase Women's representation in Parliament. In such a case, is there an alternative way to ensure increased number of women legislators in our Parliament and assemblies ? Well, I believe so.
Last year, during my Internship with Association for Democratic Reforms, I did a state-wise and political party wise analysis of Women Candidates who contested for Parliament or Assembly elections between 2004 -2013. The results were quite surprising. Between 2004 -2013, Women candidates enjoyed a higher success rate (16%) as compared to male candidates(14%). But why then, did they constitute only 8% of our Legislators ? A simple analysis of the candidates as shown in the picture below, showed a very strong relationship between % of Women candidates fielded and the % of Women candidates among winners. Between 2004-2013, in the Assembly and Parliamentary elections from all over the country, Women constituted only 7% of all the candidates. Consequently, they form only 8% of our legislators.
From the above analysis it is evident that the women are clearly not being discriminated by the voters, rather the problem is that the Political Parties are not putting up a sufficient number of Women Candidates. Hence, it is only logical to assert that with the increase in number of women candidates fielded, subsequently, the proportion of women in Parliament/Assembly will also increase.
Therefore, I suggest the following alternative :
I believe that this proposal, if implemented, will promote natural leadership among women, as there will be a healthy competition, as compared to the Women Reservation Bill. Although, with this suggestion, the co-relation presented might not remain the same with increased percentage of women candidates, yet we can expect a significant increase in Women legislators from the current figure of 8%.
The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, which proposes 33% Reservation for Women candidates in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies has been stalled for more than 4 years now in the Lok Sabha. And looking at the problems the bill poses with respect to rotation of the reserved seats, it does not seem to be a very practical solution to increase Women's representation in Parliament. In such a case, is there an alternative way to ensure increased number of women legislators in our Parliament and assemblies ? Well, I believe so.
Last year, during my Internship with Association for Democratic Reforms, I did a state-wise and political party wise analysis of Women Candidates who contested for Parliament or Assembly elections between 2004 -2013. The results were quite surprising. Between 2004 -2013, Women candidates enjoyed a higher success rate (16%) as compared to male candidates(14%). But why then, did they constitute only 8% of our Legislators ? A simple analysis of the candidates as shown in the picture below, showed a very strong relationship between % of Women candidates fielded and the % of Women candidates among winners. Between 2004-2013, in the Assembly and Parliamentary elections from all over the country, Women constituted only 7% of all the candidates. Consequently, they form only 8% of our legislators.
From the above analysis it is evident that the women are clearly not being discriminated by the voters, rather the problem is that the Political Parties are not putting up a sufficient number of Women Candidates. Hence, it is only logical to assert that with the increase in number of women candidates fielded, subsequently, the proportion of women in Parliament/Assembly will also increase.
Therefore, I suggest the following alternative :
Every Political Party (that fields more than 5 candidates in a particular election) must field at least 20% female candidates between 2014-2019 in every election, failing which they should be de-recognized by the Election Commission.The figure of 20% should be raised to 30% for the period of 2019-2024 and subsequently to 40% for 2024-2029.Once, the women are empowered to contest on their own, the reservation may be withdrawn.This would give more flexibility to the political parties in fielding deserving candidates. It would also do away with the hassles of rotation of reserved seats, as proposed in the Bill passed by Rajya Sabha. The progressive increment in the reservation, will also help in not putting a sudden burden on the parties to find suitable women candidates, and help in fostering of leadership with time.
I believe that this proposal, if implemented, will promote natural leadership among women, as there will be a healthy competition, as compared to the Women Reservation Bill. Although, with this suggestion, the co-relation presented might not remain the same with increased percentage of women candidates, yet we can expect a significant increase in Women legislators from the current figure of 8%.
