Women and power-sharing: Only a few in positions of political clout

Diversity is the global buzzword. It includes gender, colour, religion, etc.
 

India is committed — theoretically — to diversity and inclusion of women in power-sharing. It is a fact that in societies where women are empowered and put in positions of political power, their rights are safer and there is greater gender justice.
 

Whether reservation for women in Parliament is the right tool for empowerment is a debatable issue. But the Rajya Sabha passed a Bill for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures in 2010. However, it is pending before the Lok Sabha since then and has become a subject for political football.

 

Women in India are hampered by low levels of education, lack of access to health care, lack of employment, and low social status, which manifests in crimes — such as rape, female foeticide, dowry deaths and domestic violence. Many experts have argued that unless there are more women in public life who speak up and sensitise society about these issues, things will not improve.
 

But this is not reflected in the number of women included in the council of ministers. The Narendra Modi government had the highest representation of women — 17 per cent in 2015 — for four decades. But before that and after, the needle on inclusion of women in the council of ministers has not moved.  In the Modi years, it has stayed at under 15 per cent. It must be pointed out that it has been in single digits in the years past, including the Congress years, where at one point, women were just 2 per cent of the council of ministers.
 

Data: NSSO and Lok Sabha Secretariat