Enhancing Women’s Representation In Legislatures

Enhancing Women’s Representation in Legislatures MANUSHI SANGATHAN E-mail: [email_address] Website: www.manushi-india.org An Alternative to the Government’s Bill for Women’s Reservation

Apart from some exceptions like Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland where women are moving in the direction of near equal participation , female presence in legislatures remains small and relatively insignificant. But even in these countries, it did not happen automatically. Special measures were implemented to enhance women’s participation in legislatures as well as within political party

In India, the Politics has proven to be very inhospitable for women ,[object Object]

In India the problem for women is more serious for several reasons ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

The R epresentation of Women in the Lok Sabha has Remained Stagnant. * It reached a “high” of 10.6% in 2009 with 58 women being elected to Lok Sabha and 18 out of 228 in Rajya Sabha amounting to 7.89%.

[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],In Kerala , the overall literacy rate is reportedly 91 % , with 88% female literacy. Kerala has a matrilineal tradition in which women have a much larger measure of autonomy and freedom of movement. Kerala’s women also tend to marry at a much later age compared to women in other states. Most women in Rajasthan live far more restricted lives in aggressively patriarchal communities that still practice purdah and perform child marriages. By contrast, in Rajasthan, female literacy is a mere 44 % and only 37 % of females are literate in rural areas Political Representation of Women has No Direct Co-relation with literacy and other indicators.

Stagnation and/or decline in women’s political participation rates run contrary to trends in many other fields. ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Women’s Reservation Bill includes the following key provisions: ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Problems with the Present Bill ,[object Object],[object Object],The mechanical reservation and rotation it provides suffers from serious defects :

[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Flawed Bill: Forces Women into Zenana Dabba

Declining Representation of Woman in State Legislatures 1952 – 2009 (% of Women MLAs)  N.A. means Information not available for 2008 elections. Representation in State Legislatures

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Given these serious infirmities, it is necessary to design better models for enhancing women’s representation in legislatures . ,[object Object]

Proposed Alternative Women’s Reservation Bill ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Alternative WRB

Advantages of this Model ,[object Object],[object Object]

Plugging Possible Loopholes ,[object Object],[object Object]

Other Necessary Measures For Enhancing Women's Participation ,[object Object],[object Object]

The following general measures of electoral reform would go a long way towards making politics less intimidating for women ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Internal Democracy within Political Parties ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Measures to Curb the Influence of Black Money in Politics : ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Measures to Curb Electoral Malpractices ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Provisions of the Alternative Bill A Bill To Amend The Representation of People’s Act -1951 (New Section 34) ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Part B - Constitution Amendment Bill (Amending Articles 80 and 171) ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Enhancing Women’s Representation In Legislatures

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