Women representation in legislatures stays woefully low
By Pradeep Kumar Panda
Bhubaneswar, April 7: Women in Parliament and State Assemblies currently have abysmally low representation. In contrast, developed countries have much higher representations of women in their parliament.
Women account for 15 per cent of Lok Sabha MPs and 13 per cent of Rajya Sabha MPs. The state assemblies are far behind both houses of parliament in giving fare representation to women. Women constitute just nine per cent of the MLAs in India.
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The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 19, 2023. The Bill seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
A similar Bill had been introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2008, and was passed by the House two years later. It lapsed after the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.
Let’s take a look at participation of women in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies.
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Slow rise in the representation of women in Lok Sabha
- Women representation in Lok Sabha has increased from 5% in the first Lok Sabha to 15% in the current Lok Sabha.
- Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Norway, and South Africa have more than 45% women representation in their national legislatures. Japan at 10%, lags behind India.
- Currently, 15% of Lok Sabha MPs and 13% of Rajya Sabha MPs are women.
- Among parties with more than 10 seats in Lok Sabha, 42% of BJD MPs and 39% of TMC MPs are women. In Rajya Sabha, 17% of INC MPs are women.
No difference in ‘winnability’ of men and women candidates
- TMC and BJD fielded the highest proportion of women candidates. Across parties with 10 or more MPs, women were as likely to win as men.
9% of MLAs are women
- No state has more than 20% women representation in its Assembly. Chhattisgarh has the highest representation with 18% women MLAs, while Himachal Pradesh has just one woman MLA and Mizoram has none. Odisha has 12% Women MLA.
Participation of women marginally less than men in the 17th Lok Sabha
- Both men and women have more than 75% attendance in Lok Sabha. Attendance and participation in Lok Sabha ensure that members are performing their legislative duties.
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Women and men legislators have similar educational backgrounds
- There is no significant difference in the educational qualifications of men and women legislators
