Abstract
Women’s Reservation has been a great topic of debate for a very long time. From time to time, different governments came to power and proposed bills for the Reservation of women in parliament and the political system. However, the attempt made at that time failed to gain a majority. The participation of women in politics and related fields is not up to the mark due to a lack of opportunities. As a result, our political system is moving towards a male-dominated system, often referred to as a Patriarchal system. The participation of women in the political sphere is equally vital in today’s world, where, according to the National Family Health Survey’s report (5th edition), the sex ratio of the total population is 1020 females per 1000 males.[1] This shows that the percentage of the total male population in India, i.e. 51.56% today, is going to reduce, and the female population, i.e. 48.44% of the total population today, is going to increase in coming years. Thus, women’s representation has become very important in India’s legal and political system.
This research paper critically examines the recent reservation policy for women in the Parliament of India. The paper discusses the historical context of the same and evaluates it to find out the problems and their solutions. The paper talks about the evolution of reservation policies for women in electoral processes and studies the same to find out its implications on women and society at the same time. The paper comprises data from the very first time women’s Reservation was talked about in the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments to the recently passed bill of women’s Reservation in 2023. The paper will also throw light on the effectiveness of the bill passed in 2023 in increasing women’s representation and addressing earlier-built patriarchal norms and barriers. The paper also argues about some other methods through which women’s empowerment could be improved, and problems interfering in the process could be challenged to make the system more equality-oriented. It also recommends policies and reforms through which the same could be achieved even on a more significant note.
Keywords
Women’s Reservation, Parliament, Empowerment, Politics, Women’s Reservation Act, 2023
Introduction
The pursuit of gender equality and women empowerment has been a longstanding concern in India. For a very long time, women’s representation in Indian politics has been very low, but the share of women in the total population is almost half, which could even cross the same in the coming years. In the 2024 Lok Sabha general elections, women constitute 13.6% of the total members, according to the Election Commission of India’s data. There are only 74 women members of parliament in the 2024 general elections. This percentage is even lower than in the earlier elections in 2019, where women members constituted 14.3% of the total seats. Earlier in 2019, there were 78 women members of parliament.
The statement given by Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s India Representative, says, “Typically, achieving a critical mass of 30% representation by women in parliament is known to yield positive outcomes for women empowerment.” The global average of representation of women in politics is 26.5%, and in Asia itself is 19%. The percentage of women’s representation in politics in India is even less than the global average and Asia’s average. So, due to these issues, it becomes essential that proper measures for enhancing women’s representation in politics are to be taken. Different governments have introduced the bill for women’s reservations at different times. The women’s reservation bill, which was passed in 2023, had a great historical past as it was introduced a total of 6 times in the parliament.
For the first time, this was introduced in 1996, then in 1997, 1998, 2008, and 2010 and finally, in 2023, it was passed with 454 votes in favour in Lok Sabha and 214 in Rajya Sabha and ensured to allocate 33% of the seats for women in parliament and state legislative assembly. There have been numerous debates on women’s Reservations in parliament, and the women’s reservation bill has been rejected five times. On the sixth attempt, it was finally passed. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments have already been passed in the year 1992, which provided for the Reservation for one-third of the seats for women in Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Zilla Parishads, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations as well as for Posts of Sarpanch, Chairman, and Mayor.
The paper examines the historical context of the women’s reservation bill at the different time stamps, the evolution of reservation policies and the current state of women’s representation in politics in India. The paper will further examine the impacts of the recent reservation policies on women’s representation and empowerment in India.
Research Methodology
The research paper follows a systematic methodology using a mixed approach that integrates both qualitative and quantitative methods. The research paper is descriptive in nature. The researcher has utilized secondary sources such as books, articles, newspaper reports, web resources, and other relevant materials for data gathering and analysis.
Review of literature
- Overview of women’s representation since independence
In the early stages of 1947-1970s, women’s representation in politics was very low, with only a few women participating in the politics and freedom movements of India. The Constitution of India guaranteed equal rights and opportunities for women and men but did not provide for any reservation to ensure equal representation.
The very first time women’s Reservation was thought about was in 1992 when The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments were passed. These amendments introduced reservations for women in Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Zilla Parishads, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations, as well as for Posts of Sarpanch, Chairman, and Mayor. In this amendment, One-third of seats were reserved for women in these institutions, making it the first-ever reservation policy for women.
Further, The Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced in 1996 to reserve 33% of the seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures. The bill was introduced again in 1997, but it was not passed. Again, in 1998, the bill was re-introduced for the third time but did not progress further. The same happened in 2008 and 2010 when the same bill was introduced in parliament but could not secure majority votes, due to which it lapsed.
Recently, the Reservation Bill was introduced in September 2023 with some modifications in the previous one, making it suitable as the current scenario demands. The bill aims to reserve 33% of seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha with 454 votes and 214 votes in favour, respectively, and also got the assent of the president of India. The bill has already become a law under the 108th Constitutional Amendment Act.
- Different theoretical perspectives related to women’s Reservation:
1. Liberal feminism views women’s Reservation as a means to acquire equal opportunity in political participation and in other fields. Reservation, according to it, shall also level the gap generated between the two sexes because of social and cultural biases.
2. Redical feminism: Women’s Reservation takes the form of a means by which to question and challenge patriarchal structures for women’s empowerment and promote it in radical feminism; reservations are meant to be the means of Reservation for women’s empowerment and autonomy.
3. Marxist feminism views reservations against the backdrop of class struggle and economic inequality. It views Reservation as reducing disparities and places more emphasis on the need to reduce patriarchal norms in society.
4. The central tenet of intersectional feminism is the interrelationship between these varied systems of oppression and how they affect people based on their various identities. It is a struggle to attain more just systems, for these systems take into consideration the different kinds of needs of the different groups.
5. Poststructuralist feminism is involved in the deconstruction of hegemonic narratives challenging patriarchal structures of power. It does, however, claim a potential for reservations to disrupt doxa concerning the representation of identity and politics in fundamentally conservative ways.
• Analysis of previous research on women’s reservation
Several works of research on women’s reservation have been done to construe a clear comprehension of whether it is effective or not in making politics more egalitarian. The researchers contend that women’s reservation bears a positive consequence in boosting the number of their representation and participation in politics. Some of the works of research are mentioned hereby.
1. Reservations for Women: The Way Forward by Rajeev Dhavan (2008) [2]
The author argues that women’s reservations in politics are important to empower them and provide equal opportunity. He looked at history when women’s participation was negligible and how reservation would further affect them. The author has introduced a way of implementing the reservations, which is in several phases, starting from the base of local bodies and moving to further heights. He also emphasizes the need for supplemental provisions in the way of training and support for their effective participation in politics.
One will notice this very scheme our policymakers had put in place. This is because reservation for women in local bodies became effective in 1993 for the first time, and the bill for reservation of women in Parliament was introduced in 2023. Dhavan’s work is an excellent source in this regard in realizing the need for reservation in politics for women.
2. WOMEN RESERVATION IN THE INDIAN PARLIAMENT: Lessons from Other Countries by Suman Ojha, 2009 [3]
Suman Ojha has critically examined and commented on the issue of women’s reservation in the Indian Parliament and also tried to learn a lesson from other countries whose representation of women in politics is better than that of India. Then, the low representation of women in Parliament in India, around 8%, was a concern that needed to be addressed. It also further elaborated on some of the challenges that women face in Indian politics. These are the issues of patriarchal norms, lack of support, and poor access to resources. Finally, the author concludes that India can definitely learn from other countries’ experiences and can definitely implement a suitable reservation system to increase the number of women participating in Parliament.
It is a significant issue to be considered today that women’s representation in politics in Rwanda is 61.3%, then Cuba with 55.7% as of June 2024, having populations even less than two crores, whereas India has a population of over 140 crores. So, this becomes a big issue to be considered, and accordingly, learning from these countries as to how they made the landmark become achieved.
3. WOMEN AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN INDIA: A Historical Perspective by Maroju Rama Chary (2012) [4]
In this work, the author includes the fact that there was minimal representation of women at the early independence stage in politics. He further talks about the changing context when reservation was introduced in local institutions. Further, he mentions such reservations in institutions where there exists a gap in achieving gender equality in the political sphere.
He further goes on to say that Patriarchal norms, gender bias, and stereotypes still persist within women’s political participation and hence make the attainment of political equality quite hard. The issue needs to be addressed appropriately in the proper directions so that disparity can be reduced and more women can take an interest in politics.
- Comparative analysis with respect to other countries
Women’s participation in politics is robust in various countries, and it promotes gender equality and increases women’s representation in politics. India has also brought reservation policies for women in politics but has yet to achieve the peak that it should have. It is essential to learn from other countries that are doing better than India and apply the best approach to make sure that India reaches the height that it wants to in terms of gender equality in politics. Here is the comparative analysis of the women’s participation in India and other countries:
As of 1st July 2024 data, Rwanda holds the top spot with 61.3% of the women in the lower house of the parliament, followed by Cuba with 55.7%. Nicaragua stands at number three with 53.9% of women’s representatives. Other major states are France, which has 37.3%; the USA, which has 29.4%; China, which has 26.5%; and Pakistan, which has 16.2% participation.[5] This analysis becomes essential because the global average of women’s reservation in politics is 26.9%, which is even more than that of India. The countries that hold the top spots have a population of about two crores, which is just some percentage of that of India, but they have still managed to achieve gender equality in politics. Even Pakistan and China have more women participating than India. India itself stands at number 148 in the list of 182 countries that speak about the problem of gender disparity.
Despite this disparity, the Indian government has passed legislation that mandates 33% of women’s reservations in parliament. This will surely increase their participation in the future, but I am not sure that it will reach up to the mark. Indian government should learn from the experiences of these countries and analyse the procedure by which they achieved women’s participation in politics at a significant level.
- Women Reservation Act, 2023
On 28 September 2023, the One Hundred Twenty-Eighth Amendment (128th ) amendment bill was passed, also named the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023, and became an act. The women’s reservation bill was introduced at the earliest in the Lok Sabha on 19 September 2023 and was passed on 20 September 2023 with 454 votes in favour. It also got a majority in Rajya Sabha with 214 votes and was passed on 21 September 2023. Finally, the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, signed the bill on 28 September 2023, making it an act.
This act mandates one-third or 33% reservation of the seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. This reservation will apply equally to reservations for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. Reservation will be granted for a period of 15 years. However, it shall continue to this date as determined by a law made by Parliament. Only after the delimitation exercise is conducted will the bill be implemented. It will likely be implemented in the 2029 elections. The reserved seats shall also be rotated after every general election to Parliament or a legislative assembly.
- Impacts of women reservation
Reservation in politics has both positive and negative effects on the political system. On the one hand, the reservation will help increase the participation of women, which will further help them keep their points ahead in parliamentary sessions and other platforms. Reservation in politics will also empower the women and their stand in decision-making and different policy measures. This will also lead to diversification of perspectives in governance, and women’s activism will also get a boost. Increased representation will also lead to changes in policies that will benefit and empower women in different institutions. The participation of women in politics will further inspire other women to take over leadership roles, which will uplift gender equality further. It will also break existing stereotypes of patriarchal norms and male-dominant society.
But on the other hand, it may lead to a lack of capacity building. Reservation without adequate training and support can lead to inadequate political functioning. Providing reservations is one thing, but they may not have the required skills to perform their tasks. The situation may arise of just symbolic position without any actual power in their hand. Women may also become entirely dependent on reservation instead of fighting for a seat in parliament. So, every issue needs proper caution so that governance can be made more just and fair without any inequality or discrimination.
Method
The research has been conducted using a mixed approach, and the design employed for data collection in this study was multi-sourced, comprising an online search and a literature review. Data was collected from different websites, articles, and other online sources. The data relevant to the research objectives were extracted from authentic sources, such as journals, government reports, and good online publications. An extended literature search was made in books, journals, and conference papers. Choosing sources, relevance, credibility, and contribution towards the research topic were considered. Extraction and analysis of literature data were done with proper care and caution to avoid any type of misinformation. Online Search Engines, Academic Databases like JSTOR and Google Scholar, Online Libraries and Repositories and Books and Academic Journals were some of the sources for the same.
Suggestions
There has to be a multi-dimensional approach toward resolving the challenges that exist and, at the same time, bringing gender equality into political representation. Firstly, an increase in the percentage of reservations can help attain parity at a higher level. Secondly, a mixed-member proportion would guarantee the election of more women in the political sphere. Thirdly, quota within quota for marginalized women such as Dalit, tribal, or minority women, can handle intersectional issues.
Effective empowerment of women within the political process would further lead to detailed, time-bound training-cum-capacity-building programs for reserved seat holders. There should also be mentorship programs pairing the new women politicians with their more established counterparts. Further, the competition between women should be made fair in terms of funding or access to resources. The stereotypical images of women politicians can be challenged by making available positive media portrayals that assist in the building of a gender-sensitive citizenry. The policies on reservations should make provisions that involve women from the marginalized sections and permanent monitoring.
There will be a greater likelihood of women being represented in political positions when they self-nominate instead of relying only on party nominations. The headquarters should encourage political parties to promote inclusive policies and practices. Teamwork with international organizations and other countries will borrow experience from best practices, including international experiences.
Conclusion
From the literature review, it can be concluded that the reservation system for women in politics is very important and effective. This is one of the best ways to increase women’s representation in politics. Though the literature on the issue does recognize reservation as a means that does have the potential to enhance representation, thus far, the presentation has not been void of underlining the limitations and challenges in the form of tokenism, the continued practice of patriarchal norms, and a lack of capacity building, which all form a stumbling block toward the effective participation of women in politics. Along these lines, the research that follows will have to be rooted in intersectional approaches to the experiences of women at the margins, particularly those from lower castes, tribes, and religious minorities. Thus, the mixed methodology will have full force with regard to these intricate issues. It should research the long-term impact of reservation on women in terms of showing how it is going to cast its influence on political institutions and societal attitudes. It is thus going to call for critical analysis in consideration of power dynamics regarding the ways that women’s reservation challenges or reinforces power structures.
Policies recommended would, therefore, need to have inclusive reservation policies that take into account the diversity of experiences women have. Enhancing the effectiveness of women representatives requires capacity building. This would need institutional strengthening in terms of support to women’s participation with constant engagement in practice concerning addressing patriarchal norms through monitoring and evaluation vis-à-vis the impact of the reservation policies on women. This reservation in India would eventually help empower women overall, furthering the cause of gender equality. Subtle understanding is required of complex problems that can be reached through committed engagement with the challenges that persist. This may also serve as a vehicle for this comprehensive approach, and only in that way can it ensure that reservation for women leads to real participation in and effective representation of an inclusive and, therefore, more just political landscape.
References
[1]National Family Health Survey’s Report 5th Edition (2019-2021)
[2]Rajeev Dhavan, “Reservations for Women: The Way Forward.” National Law School of India Review, vol. 20, no. 1, 2008, pp. 1–45. JSTOR.
[3]Suman Ojha, “RESERVATION OF WOMEN IN THE INDIAN PARLIAMENT: Lessons from Other Countries.” The Indian Journal of Political Science, vol. 70, no. 2, 2009, pp. 471–79. JSTOR.
[4]Maroju Rama Chary, “WOMEN AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN INDIA: A Historical Perspective.” The Indian Journal Political Science, vol. 73, no. 1, 2012, pp. 119–32. JSTOR.
[5]Inter-Parliamentary Union,https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking/?date_year=2024&date_month=06, August 18, 2024.
Name- Arun Kumar
Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla