Female Representation In Politics

Question 1

Highlights of the women’s reservation Bill :

1. The Constitution (108 Amendment) Bill, 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.
2. The allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by such authority as prescribed by Parliament.
3. Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union territory.
4. Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of this Amendment Act

Answer 1

The Rajya Sabha passed the bill on March 9, 2010. However, the Lok Sabha never voted on the bill. The bill lapsed after the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.

The bill has polarised the political class whenever attempts were made to introduce it later. Not only has it faced resistance from the national parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and the Left; but also from regional outfits.

Question 2

Critics of the bill:

1. Many leaders across the political spectrum believe that such a law will give an advantage to women who are better educated and come from upper castes. Leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav have opposed the bill bitterly and have also demanded that the quantum of reservation must be less than 33.33 per cent and also that the quota must include reservation for women from minorities and OBCs.

Answer 2

2. Opponents argue that it would perpetuate the unequal status of women since they would not be perceived to be competing on merit.
3. They also contend that this policy diverts attention from the larger issues of electoral reform such as criminalisation of politics and inner party democracy.

Question 3

4. Rotation of reserved constituencies in every election may reduce the incentive for an MP to work for his constituency as he may be ineligible to seek re-election from that constituency.
5. Additionally, resistance has been rationalised as a caution that women’s quota would be appropriated by relatives and proxies of powerful politicians, neatly ignoring the fact that such a reality could well obtain with regard to male legislators too.

Answer 3

Merits :

1. Some recent studies on panchayats have shown the positive effect of reservation on empowerment of women and on allocation of resources.
2. To have more women in legislatures and the government is a big step towards empowering women in society.

Question 4

3. We have a mere 11.8 per cent women in the Lok Sabha as against a global average of about 22.8 per cent women in national legislatures (as of June 2016). These figures only indicate the dismal state of women’s empowerment, especially in roles that involve decision-making.

Answer 4

4. Numerous studies have indicated that women’s leadership style tends to be more inclusive and risk averse. This augurs well for any society to attain inclusive and sustainable development

Question 5

5. As representatives, we need women to eliminate the systemic biases and structural barriers that keep our girls out of the tech industry,
   * our victims of gender-based violence in fear
   * and our women’s sports teams under-funded.

Answer 5

6. To dismantle structural barriers, the responsibility falls on working women who have successfully overcome constraints to open the gates for other women.

• To design laws that encourage better education for girls.
• To secure financial independence and formal employment for women.
• To push up our abysmal female labour force participation rates.
• To ensure that female hygiene products are not taxed as luxury goods. Who better to design such policy than women themselves?

Question 6

• exposure to women in office weakens stereotypes about gender roles. Watching women in leadership positions reduces the negative perceptions men have about their effectiveness as leaders. It also induces men to dream better dreams for their daughters, and that is no mean feat.

Answer 6

• The government has instituted quotas for women political candidates at the local level — 33 per cent of seats are reserved for them. These quotas have been successful.
• these quotas at the local level have improved the quality of local policymaking, as women have tended to invest significantly more than their male counterparts on the provision of public goods — health, education, and roads.