Steady progress over the years but election fight still tough for women

Even if they win in a contest, it is not certain that political parties will field them again

Congress legislator Shafia Zubair won the Ramgarh seat when Rajasthan held assembly elections in 2018. She isn’t contesting the elections on Saturday: The Congress has fielded Zubair Khan, a former legislator, in Ramgarh  instead. He is Shafia’s husband.

All major parties voted for the women’s reservation bill in Parliament in September, but gender parity in Indian politics has miles to go. Women candidates comprise just a tenth of all the contesting and re-contesting candidates in four states holding elections. The number of women candidates has steadily increased in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram in the last three elections