Rise of Women in Politics in India - Tarushi Sayal
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Rise of Women in Politics in India
1Have Indian women been given equal
rights as men in Indian Politics and the
Prominent Role of Indian Women in
Politics.
Tarushi Sayal
Rise of Women in Indian Politics
March, 2021
2About Me
Tarushi Sayal is a Grade 12 student at
Scottish High International School,
India. I want to pursue Political Science
at University level. I have researched on
Rise of Women in Indian Politics and
Understanding Farmers’ Sustainability
in Punjab.
Abstract
Women's political participation regarded as
an essential element in all forms of
development; however, gender equality
policies of India remain under scrutiny.
After independence in 1947, there have
been many initiatives to increase the
political representation of women by
decentralization of power in various local
self-government institutions of India. The
act of Panchayati Raj Institutions has
increased the engagement of marginalized
segments of society, including women, into
the decision-making role in political
institutions. Hence, this study is trying to
explore the political leadership of women in
Governmental institutions. The study
reveals that there is considerable progress in
women’s equality in the leadership role;
however, there are certain crucial obstacles
still exist for women to be active in the
political realm.
3Index
Content Page No.
Introduction 5
Constitutional rights and Participation 6-7
Political Parties 7-8
Challenges to Women in politics 8-10
Prominent Women in Indian politics 11-14
Conclusion 15
Bibliography 16
4Rise of women in politics in India
Introduction
Women in politics means not just giving women the right to vote but also equip, as well as
encourage them to participate in decision making, political consciousness. In
acknowledgement of women suffrage movement and other non-discrimination practices,
women have exhibited an interest in political affairs. However, this involvement of females is
quite small-scale, as compared to that of men. The Indian government, to relieve this situation,
reserves seats (for women) in local governments.
Women engagement for India’s Parliamentary elections was 65.63%, comparable to that of
men, 67.09%.
India ranks low (20th from the underside) in terms of women indulgent in the Parliament.
Within India, though, women have successfully adhered posts of prime minister, president, and
chief ministers. There has also been a widespread tendency of voters casting a vote for women
to provide them with the opportunity and to contain gender balance concerning Indian politics.
In 1966, the mere thought of women as leaders was preposterous. Which is absurd, considering
the interest of 59 women in India’s Parliament today.
Fact: Indira Gandhi defeated Morarji Desai by 355 to 169 votes to become the first woman
prime minister of the world’s most popular democracy.
Sirima Bandaranaike, former prime minster of Sri Lanka, was the only other woman to head a
national government at the time. The trend of women participating in politics then spiked: from
17 female nominations in 1990 to 32 in 1985. However, the relative smallness of this number
indicates how little the influence of women was on power structures of the congress.
This remained likewise with national mainstream political parties, as well as one party
domination in India.
Constitutional rights of women
The Constitution of India has long established a Parliamentary system, guaranteeing the right
to vote/be elected, freedom of speech, participate in decision making, etc. Supporting its role
and intention of preserving gender equality, the constitution bans discrimination based on sex;
women have ample, equal resources to run in elections as men do.
The Government of India makes constant efforts to boycott gender discrimination, these efforts
include equal pay, free legal aid, humane working conditions, rights to education, etc. At the
time of the Indian Independence movement, held in the early 20th century, women played a
considerable role (they were also advocated from Britain). Thus, the formation of constitutional
rights brough gender equality in India. As this happened later rather than sooner, women’s
political participation has continued to be low.
5Female participation
Voting
The commonly known Women Suffrage movement began in the 1900s, as a subset of general
suffrage (for both men and women). Post India’s independence in 1950, the Indian Constitution
officially assumed men and women with the right to vote. The 1st state to grant women suffrage
was Madras, which granted this right to only those with land property (corresponding the
British administration’s records). These rights, hence, were based on qualifications; this meant
that most of both men and women were unable to vote due to their financial conditions.
Soon after, though, “universal suffrage” was assumed to all adult Indian citizens. At the time,
the qualification of an adult meant an age over 21 years old.
Voting participation has, since 1960s, experienced an increase in both rich and poor states
within India. Statistically, the ratio of voters has enhanced from 715 female voters for every
100 male voters (1960) to 883 female voters (2000). To further this growth, the ECI cleaned
out electoral rolls by removing deceased members to make space for newer ones (women).
Another method outreach, a more time-consuming yet efficient one, was to collect voters from
house to house. Also, more phot IDs have been issued and voter registration has been made
much simpler, all to spur voter turnout. The obvious increase in voters is owed to women who
were only recently authorized to vote. This growth in voter participation for women has led the
ECI to invest in programmes such as better education and outreach campaigns.
2014 elections
2014 election results in India revealed that there was 65.63% female voter turnout, compared
to 67.09% turnout for men. Realistically, these results are applaudable, considering the
government’s aim to increase women voters. Indeed, in 16 states, women’s votes were more
than those of men. The total number of women that casted their vote in the 2014 elections for
India’s Parliament was 260.6 million.
Running for public office:
WOMEN POLITICIANS IN LOK SABHA
Lok Sabha (YEAR ELECTED) NO. OF WOMEN POLITICIANS
ELECTED
17th (2019) 78
16th (2014) 64
12th (2009) 52
India, with its federal form of government, can perform several functions in relation to
elections. In 2012, India’s percentage of women elected representatives was a bare 10.9% in
the national parliament. Although the percentage may seem low, it exceeded the women
6representatives in other countries, such as Hungary, Brazil, and China, varying accordingly:
8.8%, 9.1%, 9.6%.
Political participation varies with respect to change in both, men, and women candidates.
Specifically for women participation in politics, India has ranked in top 20 countries when it
comes to involvement of women in politics (9th best in 2013). As compared to now developed
countries such as Denmark, Germany, UK and Switzerland, India’s 2013 rank was satisfactory.
Despite all aforementioned information, reservation of seats for women in political positions
remains difficult. Preparing women for the role they wish to possess requires excessive
training, with which comes expenses. For instance, in states like Tamil Nadu, women lack
adequate education to understand voting practices. This poses a predicament as information
needs to be transferred to women properly.
Women participation can be either broken down or supported by familial connections; if
women have their family’s support, they will be more likely to nominate themselves. What
rests persistent are concerns and doubts regarding women in power, however, they still play a
crucial role in decision making. Also, promoting female representatives in councils means
more issues can be discussed during assemblies. These may include childcare, violence against
women, sanitization, maternal health, etc. While men tackle other issues such as roads,
irrigation, education, water, etc.
Political parties
India retains a multi-party system. The 3 largest parties in India comprise of the Indian National
Congress (INC), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Part of India (CPI). Over
time, as political systems have become more competitive, the number of women voters has
also heightened. Additionally, women participation has been encouraged by the government:
women’s wings have been created in parties with substantial weightage. For instance, the BJP
Mahila Morcha holds all elected women representatives for BJP and the All-India Mahila
Congress grips all INC’s women.
Why did women suddenly become so involved with politics? This is due to the expanding
demand for equal rights and abolishment of gender bias among communities. Women
participation has been of substantial assistance to multiple parties. For one, it helped INC regain
its power in 2004 when challenged with poverty agendas. In turn, INC increased women’s
participation by establishing a 33% reservation quota for women in the party. Moving on, INC
took it upon itself to further women’s involvement in political agendas. By 2009, the INC had
nominated a woman to represent them in Lok Sabha, while having encouraged the election of
Pratibha Patil (India’s first female president). As for BJP, it aims for higher women
representation in councils by providing financial aid to women candidates, investing in women
leadership programs, etc. Consideration of the Uniform Civil Code by BJP has further earned
them women’s’ support and faith. Also, their advocacy regarding crimes against women have
helped more women step out of their comfort zones.
What is of prime importance is to understand that the involvement of women in politics was
gradual. It remained low in the 1990s (despite active protests that were undertaken by women
themselves – they formed their own political parties). In 2007, the United Women Front party
was formed, its role being to advocate for an increase in reservation of seats for women in
7Parliament (up to 50%). This served as a significantly hefty milestone as – throughout 1970 to
1980, 70% of electoral rolls mentioned no women candidates whatsoever. By 2013, though,
the reported women members of parliament were 11% in Lok Sabha and 10.6% in Rajya Sabha.
Female candidates
Maximum progress in the concerned topic of discussion was delineated during the election of
2019, wherein, Naam Tamilar Katchi (from Tamil Nadu) made for 50% women candidates in
Lok Sabha (occupying a total of 40 seats). This trend continued until much recently: In 2021,
they offered proffered 117 seats to women, maintaining the 50:50 men to women ratio.
Political activism
Political activism refers to cohesive methods and campaigns to create awareness about political
issues and/or promote political reforms. The 1970s Chipko movement, one of the first few
women-targeted movements, was a success as the problem of deforestation was tackled
through protection of the Uttarakhand region. It is obvious that women in politics would wish
to discuss their personal dilemmas before anyone else’s, as is the human tendency. Topics of
such discussions circled around rape, female mortality rates, dowries, domestic abuse, and
other such violence towards women. The Mathura rape case in 1972, the gang rape of Bhanwari
Devi in 1992 and more recent acts of violence such as the gang rape case in 2012 (New Delhi)
have given rise to women’s organizations that work locally, as well as globally to combat the
above-mentioned issues.
Challenges to women’s participation
Even with evolvement of societal thought processes, women’s participation levels have not
risen, or were, at the very least, stagnant in nature. This was due to cultural, economic, and
political barriers in the form of violence and/or discrimination.
Sexual violence
The primary reason for lack of women participation in politics was identified as threat of
violence. A form of violence most common among women in minorities is sexual violence.
Domestic/substance abuse and child marriage have continuously led to sexual violence in
India. Statistics:
§ 24% of Indian men professed to having committed sexual violence against women.
§ 20% of Indian men indulged in forced sex with their partners.
§ 38% of Indian men admitted they physically abused (raped) their partner.
Sexual violence is exacerbated since violence within marriage is legal, and no man can be
charged for abusing their partners if they are legally married to them. This continued putting
down of women is a justified reason for their inability to speak up in public or form political
relationships.
8Discrimination
Discrimination, even in the 21st century, has posed to be a determinant of less women’s political
participation. Widespread discrimination has resulted in low access of information regarding
politics for women, political matters are discussed and kept among men. Gaining leadership
skills is a full-time job, which cannot be dealt with if women are preoccupied with household
work because societal norms say women must take care of a home. Also, the evident dominance
of men in the political arena makes it almost impossible for women to step up and take a stance,
let alone get elected.
Courtesy of a 2012 study, 3,000 Indian women found it strenuous to participate in politics due
work burdens in households and lack of faith of family members in the ideology of women as
proxies: discouraging attitude.
Discrimination lies not only between genders, but also in relation to caste, class and religion.
“Dalit” women are discouraged from running for the public office as people believe their
knowledge of the subject matter is weak. In fact, such women, that do make it to the public
office through reserved seats, are mistreated and abused for their caste. They may also be
removed following petitions if they speak up for their right as elected representatives.
Illiteracy
The notion of illiteracy is widespread in India as it has its reputation for being one of the largest
illiterate populations. The UN reported 25.6% of Indians as illiterate; women literacy counting
for 65.46% of the total population and 82.14 for men. Illiteracy is an immediate, undeniable
barrier of women’s political participation. If women don’t understand political systems and
procedures, they cannot contribute in any way. Illiteracy also takes away women’s rights to
vote as they may be left off voter lists as their knowledge of politics is insufficient to make a
vote.
Results of studies conducted by Nirmala Buch quoted “women are "persistently mocked and
devalued in the panchayats if they are illiterate”. Fear or embarrassment of this sort may
discourage women from participating further. A way to tackle this problem would be to
conduct awareness campaigns, as well as promote direct provision of newspapers among the
public.
Overcoming barriers of participation
Overcoming aforementioned barriers is a struggle for the government, as their control over the
matter is limited. Women’s organisations have focused on women empowerment since their
formations. Empowerment, in all sense, goes hand in hand with familial support and
encouragement within households. These, however, as mentioned above, are compromised due
to tendencies of sexual violence/verbal abuse. Illiteracy, in addition to dearth of adequate
knowledge about the subject, makes it impractical for women to vote, let alone run for public
office.
To mitigate these issues, the government can make marital rape illegal and an offence in the
eyes of jury. Gender roles/norms can be re accessed to fit an unbiased view of working women.
Also, women, as well as their families can be taught about politics to incentivise them into
participating.
9Prominent Women in Indian Politics
Sarojini Naidu (First woman governor of India)
From August 15, 1947, to March 2, 1949, Sarojini Naidu was the first woman governor of the
Republic of India. She began her political journey when she became the President of Indian
National Congress (INC).
Aside from politics, Sarojini Naidu was a poet and a women’s rights activist. Her prominence
in the Independence movement and role in the wake of partition earned her popularity among
the public. She was the only female freedom fighter, along with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal
Nehru, etc. By 1917, She established, independently, a Women’s Indian Association (WIA) to
fight for women’s suffrage. She worked with other activists and finally, when INC came to
power, they accepted women’s rights to vote.
Indira Gandhi (First female Prime Minister of India)
Indira Gandhi – first and last (until now) female Prime Minster of India. Indira Gandhi indulged
herself in politics long before her reign. Being the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, she assisted
him with his duties as the Prime Minister (1947 – 1964). Then, she was elected as the MP of
Rajya Sabha. In 1966, she was elected as the Prime Minister of India.
Indira Gandhi’s decision making was slightly hindered due to the societal belief that women
have no place in politics. She was also termed “weak puppet” for being a woman; her ideas
were not given much consideration and so, she had to work harder than most men in the office.
Her anti-poverty programs “Garibi-Hatao” was a major success and won the faith of many.
Post such programs and initiatives, she earned multiple applaudable titles, such as “Women of
the Millennium”, and the phrase “Indira in India, India is Indira”.
Her other milestones include:
§ Minister of Information and Broadcasting (1964)
§ Minister of External Affairs (1967)
§ Minister of Finance (1970)
§ Minister of Defense (1975)
Sonia Gandhi played an important role in making the National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme and the Right to Information Act into law. She supported the LGBTQIA community and
opposed Sec 377 when it was upheld by the supreme court in 2013. Sonia was the former president
of Indian National Congress, the position later was succeeded by her son Rahul Gandhi.
Sonia Gandhi (First Woman Leader Of The Opposition Of Lok Sabha)
Although Sonia Gandhi was not wholly involved in politics, her influence was riveting among
Indians. In 1999, she was elected as the Leader of the Opposition of Lok Sabha. She was the
daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi and mentioned that Indira inspired her to become a leader.
The Forbes magazine lister Sonia as the 9th most powerful woman in the world. Moreover, she
was featured in the list of 100 most influential people in 2007/08. Followed by a ranking of 21
among the world’s most powerful leaders: both men and women (in year 2013).
10Other cases Sonia Gandhi was involved in were:
§ A commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.
§ Opposing Section 377 (unnatural offences).
§ Assisted in making the Right to Information Act into law.
Pratibha Patil ( First woman president of India )
At the age of 27, Pratibha was elected as an MLA for the Jalgaon constituency. In 2007,
Pratibha Patil was elected as the 12th president of India. Pratibha was neither spared nor eased
into her positions. Despite this, she won the elections for President of India. Providing leniency
to those that committed crimes made Pratibha seem weak in the eyes of the public office, as
well as the public. However, she was also taken as compassionate by some.
A list of Pratibha’s accomplishments:
§ First female governor of Rajasthan
§ Possesses a Bachelor of Law degree
§ Established Vidya Bharati Shikshan Prasarak Mandal
Dr. Shwetha Shetty (Founder of all woman political party)
Swetha Shetty was one of the few women to find and launch (in 2018) an all-women political
party: aim being to improve living conditions of women in India. Her reason for forming such
an organization was to bring up women-related issues in political discussions. As there was an
obvious dearth of female representatives in the office, no person was advocating for concerns
like sanitization, maternal help, access to resources/knowledge, etc.
There are currently 1.45 lakh members in politics, and Shwetha’s hope remains that more
women will join this number, to promote diversification of topics in Parliament discussions.
Her party focuses on reserving seats for women in Lok Sabha and other public offices, not just
for the sake of publicity, but to hear the views of women and work on necessary issues that are
brought up.
Vijayalakshmi Pandit (First woman to hold a cabinet position)
Vijayalakshmi Pandit, sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, fought for India’s independence. She served
as Nehru’s representative to the Soviet Union, USA and the UN, after which, she visited
London as an Indian diplomat. Before India earned its independence from the British forces,
Vijayalakshmi Pandit was the first woman to take up the role of a cabinet position. She was
also elected to the following roles:
§ Provincial legislature of the United Provinces
§ Minister of local self-government and public health
§ Diplomatic services after Independence
§ India's ambassador to the Soviet Union
11She was also offered a place in the constituent assembly by popular vote. Additionally, she has
a list of accomplishments, including but not limited to being the first woman President of the
United Nations General Assembly. She also served as the Governor of Maharashtra. Her
daughter, Nayantara Sehgal, is an award-winning writer, and the proud recipient of the 1986
Sahitya Akademie Award for her efforts and achievements.
Sucheta Kriplani (First woman chief minister of a state, UP)
Sucheta Kriplani was the first woman to be the leader of a state. Before officially becoming
the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1963 to 1967, she was a freedom fighter and a
politician who founded Congress in 1940. When she was the chief minister, one of her
highlights of her career was the firm way in which she handled the state employees’ strike.
While India was fighting for Independence, she led the Quit India movement and was one of
the few women to be elected into the constituent assembly by popular vote to support in the
drafting of the Indian constitution.
Sheila Dixit (Longest-serving chief minister of India)
Sheila Dixit, the longest-serving chief minister of India till date, from 1998 to 2013, was elected
three times in a row. Having served as the Union Minister for parliamentary affairs and
Minister of State in the PM's office, she is currently the president of Delhi Pradesh Congress
Committee.
Sheila Dixit has created significant change and remains a pioneer in the promotion of welfare
of women. Not only has she led a movement against violence inflicted on woman, but has also
supported in the planning and development of hostels. She became a member of the Indian
delegation for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Furthermore, she has
received certain awards for her strenuous and unceasing efforts towards women rights and her
persistence as a chief minister, including Best Chief Minister of India and Politician of the year,
declared by NDTV.
Under her supervision, the government paid attention to making public transportation systems
stronger, enhancing roads and bridges, while emphasizing on academic excellence.
V.S Ramadevi (First Woman Election Commission)
V.S Ramadevi was the first woman to be appointed the role of Chief Election Commissioner
of India in 1990, followed by being the first as well as the only woman to take up the prestigious
position of the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha from 1993 to 1997. Ramadevi was also
the Governor of Himachal Pradesh from 1997 to 1999 and the Governor of Karnataka from
1999 to 2002.
Mayawati (First woman Dalit chief minister)
Mayawati became the first female Scheduled caste Chief Minister of India, thereby breaking
through common misconceptions towards the marginalized women of India. She was the CM
of Uttar Pradesh and the president of Bahujan Samaj Party, which emphasizes on political
involvement, social change, and liberation of the marginalized Bahujan community.
She is proclaimed as a global icon by Dalits and Bahujans all over India. She is currently a
Rajya Sabha MP, and one of her most prominent career highlights is safeguarding proper
12representation of the backward society, both in the government, as well as the private sector.
She also took controversial decisions for the benefit of citizens, including suspending
government officials who failed to do their jobs. In relation to her strenuous efforts in
supporting the backward community, Mayawati launched a scheme for building low-cost
housing societies for urban poor. Other efforts include setting up solar power plants and a
rehabilitation university for the Physically challenged students.
Annie Besant (First Woman leader of a majority party)
Annie Besant is a socialist, women’s right activist, orator, and supporter of Indian self-rule.
Having been the 1st woman president of INC (Indian National Congress), she played a vast role
in fighting for freedom. She aimed for not only the protection of women, but in general,
freedom of thought/speech, secularism, worker’s right, etc. Being an activist, she was not afraid
to take a stance and challenge procedure she felt were biased; she stood against the caste
system, as well as child marriage. Throughout her endeavors of societal well-being, she had
the support of Congress and Muslim League.
Mamata Banerjee (First woman minister of railways)
First women to be elected as chief minister of west Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has, attached to
her name, uncountable achievements. She separated from the Indian National Congress and
shortly after, was able to launch the All-India Trinamool Congress. The Time Magazine, in
year 2012, referred to her in an article of the 100 most influential people in the world. At the
time of her ministry in the railway sector, she focused on bettering tourism across West Bengal.
She introduced new express trains such as the Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express train.
India is still to go a long way when it comes to participation of women in politics. While the
country has seen strong leaders like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, there rarely were
phases where the country saw a woman taking the centre stage and lead from the front after
Gandhi. Despite the less participation, some female leaders were able to shape the political
landscape in the country.
13Conclusion
India’s democracy – the world’s largest democracy – although vastly successful, lacks in terms
of women participation. Thence, it remains crucial to the governments’ roles to expedite the
inclusion of women in political matters, both as voters and as representatives. Monitoring
decision making has yet posed to be a challenge within India. Since its independence, the Indian
government has rousted its systems and procedure through the use of advanced technology.
Keeping in mind the Indian government’s responsibility towards building a gender equal
society, it has initiated gender budget activities, reduced restrictions to females, and increased
women security.
The government aims for more such participation due to the success observed under female
leaders. Along with more feminine-targeted solutions, the councils are now able to address the
concerns of the larger public.
Specifically for freedom movements, women have played important roles in gaining women
suffrage and other women rights, as well as encouraging a reduce in sexual violence, abuse that
women undergo. A few of these influential women include Uma Bharti, KK Shailaja, Smriti
Irani, Nirmala Sitharaman and Khushbu Sundar.
Indira Gandhi , a woman , was the longest prime minister of our nation after Jawaharlal Nehru.
Women in India are a strong part of the political and social fight for Independence prior to the
building of the Indian constitution.
“If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than
man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s
superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she
not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man
could not be.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Quote taken from –
(https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/mexico_nov2014/Session%206%20India%2
0ppt.pdf )
Finally, the involvement of women in politics will pave the path for focused discussions on a
range of policy issues, especially pertaining to women’s rights issues, quality of life
(sanitisation) and appropriate education for young girls. A limitation to this is the fact that men
are responsible for inscribing women’s rights; the matter is not viewed from a feminine body;
relenting bias. An increase in political participation of women, thus, will prove able of undoing
all wrongs that have been done to women and creating a more gender-just democracy.
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