The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to reserve one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, sparked conversations about gender representation in the Indian political corridors. As the historic bill gets clearance from both houses of Parliament, we take a closer look at women's representation across state assemblies, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
State Assemblies:
The data on women Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) across India reveal a mixed scenario. According to PRS, no state currently has more than 20 per cent of women representation in the assembly. The state with the highest representation of women MLAs is Chhattisgarh, with 18 per cent females. In contrast, Himachal Pradesh has one woman MLA, while Mizoram has none.
Chhattisgarh: 18% women MLAs
West Bengal and Rajasthan: Each has 14% women MLAs
Uttarakhand: 13% women MLAs
Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar: Each has 12% women MLAs
Punjab: 11% women MLAs
Delhi and Haryana: Each has 10% of women MLAs
Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Sikkim: Each has 9% women MLAs
Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Manipur: Each with 8% of women MLAs
Arunachal Pradesh: 7% women MLAs
Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, and Assam: Each with 5% women MLAs
Karnataka: 4% women MLAs
Nagaland: 3% women MLAs
Parliament:
In the Indian Parliament, the representation of women MPs is also below desired levels. As of now, 15 per cent of Lok Sabha MPs and 13 per cent of Rajya Sabha MPs are women, as per PRS data. When we look at specific political parties with more than 10 seats in the Lok Sabha, we find varying levels of women's representation.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leads with 42% of women MPs.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) follows closely with 39% of women MPs.
In Rajya Sabha, the Indian National Congress (INC) has the highest women representation at 17%.
A closer examination of the data reveals some positive trends. Among the larger states, Odisha stands out with a healthy representation of women. One-third of the state's Lok Sabha members are women.
The data also underline areas where women's representation remains woefully inadequate. In 13 states, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala, less than 10 per cent of the MPs are women.
Seven states did not send a single woman to the Parliament in the 2019 elections. In Manipur and Nagaland, not one woman contested the elections in 2019.
Data from the Election Commission of India shed light on the broader challenges. In the 2019 general elections, only 9 per cent of the tickets were handed to women, with nearly a third of these women lacking party support. In 2014, the number of women candidates was even lower.
While parties like All India Trinamool Congress and Naam Tamilar Katchi have shown progress with a significant proportion of their Lok Sabha tickets going to women candidates, larger parties like BJP and Congress still have room for improvement, with women's representation hovering around 12.5 to 12.8 per cent.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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