Women’s Political Participation in India

Syllabus: GS1/Society

Context

• Rajeshwari Deshpande’s study, ‘Shaping of the Woman Constituency in Indian Elections: Evidence from the NES Data’ analyses political participation of women in India.

Major Highlights of the Study

• Voting Behavior & Agency: Women’s voting patterns and choices are often overlooked, with political parties treating them as a homogeneous group and not considering factors like caste, class, and religion.
• Welfare Programs: Political parties often frame women as passive beneficiaries of welfare programs like Ujjwala and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, reinforcing a dependent image.
• Voting vs Political Power: Despite increased turnout, women’s political participation remains limited beyond voting.
  • Women lag behind men in other forms of political participation like rallies, campaigns, and policy advocacy, facing social and structural barriers.
• Male Migration Impact: In states with large-scale male migration, women’s voter turnout has increased, especially in socially and economically ‘backward’ areas.
• State-Specific Voting Patterns: In states with strong regional parties (e.g., Tamil Nadu, Kerala), women’s preferences align more with regional movements rather than national gender-based trends.

Women’s Political Participation in India

• Unlike many countries where the gender gap in political participation began narrowing in the 1990s, India saw this shift only in the 2010s.
• In the 2019 general elections, female voter turnout slightly exceeded male voter turnout, with women making up 49.5% of the electorate.
• In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, women had a slightly higher voting percentage (65.8%) compared to men (65.6%).
• Women, especially in rural areas, are becoming more politically conscious, active, and involved in village-level decision-making.

Global Goals

• Women’s equal participation and leadership in politics are crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
  • SDG 5 focuses on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Balanced political participation and power-sharing between women and men in decision-making is a key target set in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Factor’s Influencing Women’s Political Participation

• Socio-Cultural Norms: Traditional gender roles and cultural expectations often limit women’s public and political involvement.
• Education and Literacy: Higher literacy rates and education levels empower women to participate more actively in politics.
• Economic Independence: Women’s workforce participation and economic independence can boost their political agency.`
• Caste, Class, and Religion: Women’s political choices are shaped by their caste, class, and religious identities, influencing their voting behavior and party affiliations.
• Political Party Strategies: The outreach and engagement of political parties with women through targeted policies or welfare schemes impact their participation.
• Social Movements: Women’s involvement in social movements and activism can strengthen their engagement in formal politics.
• Regional and State-Specific Factors: Regional political contexts, including the strength of local parties and issues specific to states, can shape women’s political behavior.

Conclusion

• The decentralization of governance which is taking place for the last two decades has increased the importance of measuring participation of women in decision making. 
• Proper gender budgeting has already been worked out for inclusive growth of women.
• With more responsive data on women participation, better gender budget initiatives aim to move the country towards a gender equal society.

Source: TH