This paper aims to portray a composite image on the condition of women representation in legislatures across India including both the state legislatures and Central legislature i.e. the Parliament of India. The paper analyses the demand of reservation for women by a historical as well as contemporary perspective. The present conditions and numbers have been presented in the paper and international comparisons have been made for the proper study of the topic and to put the topic into proper perspective. The paper includes a detailed study of the recent Women’s reservation Bill 2023 which is the latest development in the avenue of women’s representation in the Indian legislatures. The paper is brought to a conclusion with some suggestions which might prove to be a supporter to the cause of women empowerment and equality.
KEYWORDS
Reservation, Quotas, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), Politics, Representation, Legislatures
METHODOLOGY
The paper is a doctrinal research on the current status of women in state and central legislatures of India. Several research papers on the topic conducted by experienced researchers have been cited for a more refined view on the topic. Data from authentic sources like the government of India and it’s subsidiary organizations have been taken to provide a empirical view on the matter. Several articles, written bye, important dignitaries have also been cited in order to provide a more composite picture on the topic. Doctrinal methods of research have been used with secondary data to support the conclusions.
HISTORY
Ammu Swaminathan was one of the founding mothers of our country and her words can be cited as one of the first demands of reservation for women in Indian legislature.India as a nation has gone through several phases and so have the demands for reservation but the very roots of this demand can be traced back to one of the speeches made by one of the founding mothers of our nation, Ammu Swaminathan. Arguing in the constituent Assembly she said, “Equal right is a great thing and it is only fitting that it has been included in the Constitution. People outside have been saying that India did not give equal rights to her women. Now we can say that when the Indian people themselves framed their Constitution they have given rights to women equal with every other citizen of the country. That in itself is a great achievement and it is going to help our women not only to realise their responsibilities but to come forward and fully shoulder their responsibilities to make India a great country that she had been”.However some other women members which included Hansa Mehta and Renuka Ray of the constituent assembly opposed the demand stating that what the Indian women wanted in essence was not reservation but equality-Social, Economic and political. The demands for reservation for women in Indian legislature gained ground on 12th September 1996 when the 81st Constitutional amendment bill was introduced, accompanied by heated discussions the bill was brought down with objections that it could not in any possible way bring capable women to the forefront. The bill was introduced four more times between 1998 and 2003 however it met the same fate and collapsed each and every time.
The Supreme Court Observer published ,“Today, the country has more women MPs than anywhere else. But they constitute only 14 percent of lawmakers, well below the global average of 26.5 percent.” This data very clearly suggests that the country has lacked on the avenue of equal representation of women law makers in India. The 128th amendment aims to solve this forefront and hence is a bill of hope for the women of the country as far as the legislative avenue is concerned.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The pros and cons of Gender Quota laws: What happens when you kick men out and let women in?
This paper examines and throws some light on the important effects on policy decisions made by women in local governments. The paper reaches the conclusion that women leaders invested more in avenues linked to women’s concerns. However, the issue of proper education was neglected by the elected women leaders in comparison to the men who invested more resources in education.
The author reaches the conclusion that all mechanisms that affect politicians attributes could have an impact on policy decisions and the implication of the reservation policy.
Are Quotas a good idea? The Indian experience with reserved seats for women.
The author of this paper presents a very informative research, examining the pros and cons of candidate quota laws. The study presents quotas as an exogenous shock, which could loosen the hold of long- time norms associating politics with men. However, the author also cautions regarding the fact that gender quotas could in some countries reinforce the status quo especially due to the methods of election and candidate nomination processes. The paper also mentions that effectiveness and power of presence does not necessarily depend on the number of women in the legislature but how democratic the legislature actually is. Gender quotas could help the political imagination of gender equality in legislature is, but it would require some systemic improvements and reforms.
Women in politics: Evidence from the Indian States
This paper by Irma Clots Figueras examined the influences of women, political representation on expenditure, public goods and policy decisions on the basis of data gathered mainly from 16 states in India. The paper found some stark differences in comparing the women legislators of scheduled caste and schedule Tribes and the women legislators of the general castes and where their main investments and works were focused. The paper also found that women representatives increase the number of teachers per thousand individuals in primary schools. However, they had a negative impact on the kilometre of surfaced roads made which presents a very unique conclusion that the priorities of women legislators and male legislators are somewhat different. The author of the paper in the conclusion states that women on a general level favoured women friendly laws such as amendment to the Hindu succession act. The paper comes to a conclusion that it would be a positive step to increase women representation in Indian legislative bodies, but it should be ensured that the women are from different social and economic backgrounds which would enhance proper representation.
Competing Inequalities: The Struggle Over Reserved Legislative Seats for Women in India
This paper dives into the intricacies of the different opinions regarding women reservation in Indian legislature. This paper was written in special reference to the women’s Reservation Bill, 1998, which collapsed and could not be passed in the Indian Parliament. The author of this paper clearly states that reservation in addition to being a redistributive policy is also a means of recognition and representation. This paper also mentions that often in debates of reservation, the other social groups which are the Muslims and other backward castes take the upper positions and hence neglecting the issue of women reservation in legislature, to explain this the author of this paper terms women as the ‘minor minority’. She also brings forth the explanation that the coincidence of material and social backgrounds can cause reservations to much-needed social tool.
COMMITTEES AND REPORTS
Margaret Alva, a Union minister at that time was given the responsibility to head the committee of 14 members which was to look into the then conditions of Indian women and suggest a national policy. The committee presented a national perspective plan and gave a list of 353 recommendations which also included the very important recommendation of reservation of seats for women in elected bodies. Subsequently, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendment acts provided for the reservation of 1/3rd of seats for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), such as gram panchayats and Zila parishads. This was a huge step forward towards achieving the goal of women equality in elected bodies.
Geeta Mukherjee Committee 1996:
The committee which comprised of 21 members from the then Lok Sabha and 10 members from the then Rajya Sabha was headed by Geeta Mukherjee, the committee made seven important recommendations out of which one was to consider extending reservation to the Other Backward Castes(OBCs) at the appropriate time because seats were already reserved within the SC/ST castes as for women, but the OBC women were devoid of this facility and this had negative effect on their representation in the legislatures.
There also was a committee constituted in 2013 to examine the status of women in the country. This committee was constituted by the Ministry of Women and Child development and it recommended ensuring a minimum of 50% reservation for women in the local bodies, the state legislative assemblies, the central legislature and all other important organs of the government.
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BODIES
India currently has a total of 2.6 lakhs gram panchayats in which more than a million women are elected members. This tremendous achievement has been gained on the background of the 73rd Constitutional amendment in 1992, which provided for 1/3rd reservation of seats for women in local governments. The 74th Constitutional amendment provided for 33% reservation of seats for women in urban local bodies of governance. These two amendments paved the path for increased women representation in local government bodies.
Article 243D of the Indian Constitution mandates at least 33% reservation for women out of total number of seats of Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Government Data suggests that as of September 2021, in at least 18 states, the percentage of women elected representatives in Panchayati Raj institutions was more than 50%.
These states include Chhattisgarh, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, etc. Women can be considered as the game changers in Panchayati raj institutions as Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta states, “Their participation in panchayats has an undeniable impact on developmental outcomes and social change. And there is an undeniable message even in being present.” The message which is the author mentions is the message of equality and the message that women want to participate in the decision-making processes of the country at the micro level which are the Panchayati Raj institutions.
Women can contribute immensely to the Panchayati Raj institutions in very novel ways. A three time Gram Panchayat member from the north Karnataka districts spoke, “We women go from lane to lane and house to house ,interacting with families, asking about their everyday problems. We can keep an eye on how the aanganwadi (rural child care centre) is functioning; the size and freshness of eggs. Whether children are coming regularly to school. Whether there is something we need to do for children in our panchayat.”This statement essentially elucidates that there might be certain areas and regions of work where women can have increased access and therefore can contribute to the Panchayati Raj institutions in different and unique ways. The Panchayati Raj institutions and their women reserved seats have often been overshadowed by male dominance as women elected sometimes act as mere proxies. However, the benefits of the reservation for women greatly outweigh these apprehensions and the success of reservation for women in such institutions has given the country an example of how increased women participation in decision making can contribute largely to the progress of India.
INDIA AND OTHERS
Currently 15% of Lok Sabha members of Parliament are women and 13% of Rajya Sabha members of Parliament are women. In the previous five-year term, the women representation was 10% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha and hence it can be derived that the representation of women at the central legislature level has increased steadily and substantially.
Data suggests that several parties which have more than 10 sitting MPs in the Lok Sabha have greater percentages of women representation than the national average. The BJD has 42% women legislators, whereas the Trinamool congress also known as a TMC has 39% of women legislators.
India, although improving at a substantial rate is far behind countries like Rawanda and Nicaragua which have 61% and 54% of women in their national legislatures.
Data also suggests that Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Norway have a substantially high women participation in their national legislature.
This election reports of general elections 2019, if studied closely suggests that there is minimal difference in winnability of men and women candidates.
However, there is much work to be done in state assemblies because the presence of women in the State Legislative Assemblies is comparatively low and hence can be a deterrent to a truly democratic and representative nature of the Indian democracy and system of government.
The following table clearly presents this aspect.
WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL 2023
The National Federation of Indian women filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court of India in 2021. The main aim of the petition was the introduction of a bill in the Indian legislature for the reservation of 33% seats for women in the Parliament of India as well as the state legislative assemblies, the matter had been looked upon by the court and the union was rebuked for it’s neglection of the matter and lack of responsiveness to a very important issue. However, this would not be for long as both houses, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha passed the women’s Reservation Bill as a surprising but remarkable step aimed towards the goal of women equality.
The Intricacies of the bill:
The 106th Constitution amendment act, 2023 also referred to as the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 provides for reservation of one third or 33% of all seats for women in the lower house of the Parliament. That is the Lok Sabha as well as the state legislative assembly and the legislative assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The seats would also include those reserved for Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The bill however is not subject to immediate execution and provides for its effectiveness only after the publication of the population census, which should follow the above mentioned act’s commencement. The bill would endure a 15 year period and it is also subjected to potential extension which would be determined by the then Parliamentary action.
The bill provides for following articles to be inserted in the Constitution of India:
Article 330A, which provides for reservation for women in Lok Sabha or the lower house of the Indian Parliament
Article 332A, which provides for reservation for women in State legislative Assemblies also known as Vidhan Sabhas.
Article 239AA, which provides for reservation for women in the national capital territory of Delhi.
Article 334A, which provides that the reservation would only become affective after the delimitation process and the process of census is conducted and executed.
The bill also provides for rotation of the reserve seats. The bill was passed by a thumping majority and huge uproar from the parliamentarians.
Advantages:
- The bill has the potential to address one of the most important issues of the country that is the gender gap. India currently ranks 48 out of 146 as far as the political empowerment aspect of the global gender Gap report 2022 is concerned. This bill if implemented properly could substantially increase the political representation of women and hence reduce this gap.
- The United Nations Data suggest that countries like Rwanda, Cuba and Nicaragua have tremendous women representation in their respective legislatures. However, Indian condition seems to be bleak with only 82 women member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha and 31 in Rajya Sabha which is 15.2% and 13% respectively. This data suggests that India as a nation has a great need to increase women representation in order to be on equal footing with countries, which are very advanced as far as female representation is concerned.
- Several studies have shown that women in legislatures at the central level as well as grassroot level such as panchayats have worked and invested more in the public goods linked to women’s concerns and hence increasing the number of women in legislations could result in more women friendly and empowering policies and decisions.
- For democracy to function in its true sense, equal representation of all members of the society is necessary and the presence of diverse perspectives on various decisions and policies is also of great importance. This bill would ensure increased representation and hence diverse perspectives which would be huge step ahead for the proper functioning of the Indian democracy.
However, the bill faced certain minute objections. One of them was that women are not a homogeneous community say like a Caste group. Women come across from different castes such as scheduled castes, scheduled Tribes, other backward castes and general castes. Several women come from different religions, and therefore if reservation would be guaranteed to women, it would in certain ways violate the fundamental right of equality.
The objections did not pose any serious threat to the passing of the bill and the bill passed with a huge majority vote.
SUGGESTIONS
India has come a long way but it still requires certain reforms, certain steps to be taken, which would propel her to new achievements and heights of development.
These steps can include:
- Women’s participation in the Panchayati Raj Institutions can still be immensely improved and one such way would be with the help of women’s self-help groups. These self-help groups should cater specially to women’s rights and entitlements.
- The women in the Panchayati raj institutions are not trained properly and hence reforms should be made to the training programs such as the duration of training programs should be increased as well as new methods of training should be brought forth to provide for practical work experiences.
- Providing only reservation to women in legislators would not mean women welfare, for that bigger steps and bigger reforms should be made. Programs should be started increasing awareness and education to women regarding political participation, their rights and their duties.
- India is still a country with huge numbers of gender-based violence and domestic violence cases. Addressing these issues through policy and legal measures would create a much more conducive environment for women to participate in politics which would enhance their political representation.
CONCLUSION
Women have often been at the back seat and have been neglected as far as political representation is concerned, but our forefathers, the framers of the Indian constitution made sure to make amends to this. The Constitution has provided for equality to women in all aspects and from time to time. The lawmakers of this country have tried to inculcate those values and those principles in the policy-making be it the various recommendations made by the various Parliamentary committees or be it the important legislations such as the 73rd and 74th amendment acts. Women’s participation in the political diaspora has substantially increased and women have contributed to the policy-making of the country. But still there is a long way to go, reservation of seats for women in the Legislature is a huge step forward but the real goal, the goal of women welfare in truest sense will be only achieved when all the factors come together to serve this purpose.
REFERENCES
- Ammu Swaminathan [Constituent Assembly Debates November 24, 1949; 11.164.213].
- Supreme Court Observer(last visited Dec.13 ,2023)
- Lisa Baldez -The Pros and Cons of Gender Quota Laws: What Happens When You Kick Men Out and Let Women I? https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/DCBF51AD9FFEA29C91FB9745F5EF0444/stamped-S1743923X06001012a.pdf/are_quotas_a_good_idea_the_indian_experience_with_reserved_seats_for_women.pdf
- Irma Clots-Figueras Women in Politics: Evidence from the Indian states https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/19294/1/Women_in_Politics_Evidence_from_the_Indian_states.pdf
- Medha Nanivadekar- Are Quotas a Good Idea? The Indian Experience with Reserved Seats for Women https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/DCBF51AD9FFEA29C91FB9745F5EF0444/stamped-S1743923X06001012a.pdf/are_quotas_a_good_idea_the_indian_experience_with_reserved_seats_for_women.pdf
- LAURA DUDLEY JENKINS Competing Inequalities: The Struggle Over Reserved Legislative Seats for Women in India https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/87E90771F765FB11907346DEA8196524/S0020859000115196a.pdf/div-class-title-competing-inequalities-the-struggle-over-reserved-legislative-seats-for-women-in-india-a-href-fn01-ref-type-fn-a-div.pdf
- Drishti IAS (last visited Dec. 15,2023)
- The Hindu(last visited Dec. 14,2023)
- Choudhury, A. D. (2023). Vital Stats Women in Parliament and State Assemblies Slow rise in the representation of women in Lok Sabha Percentage of women MPs in Lok Sabha. https://prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/vital-stats/women-in-parliament-and-state-assemblies
Submission by Saurabh Yadav1st year BA.LLB.(H.) student at Gujarat National Law University,Gandhinagar.