Based on primary and secondary sources, this paper attempts to ascertain the underlying patterns and themes of women's political participation and their levels of inclusion or exclusion from the political process. A balance sheet of gender participation in formal politics reveals that there has been marked increase in voting turnout and election campaigning among women although they still continue to be excluded from legislative bodies at national and state level and deprived from key decision making positions in government and political parties.
Field-based research shows ‘interest in polities’ as the key determinant and one of the best predictors of women's levels of political participation. Among other factors that seem to determine the intensity of women's formal participation in politics, ‘media exposure’-proxy for awareness-emerges as important variable.
The key areas that need to be addressed for improving political participation of women and inclusion in the political process are affirmative action, better representation in legislative bodies and political parties, particularly in the decision making bodies as well as cabinet berths in government at centre and state level in partnership with civil society.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Agarwal, Bina. (1997). ‘Editorial: Re-sounding the Alert—Gender, Resources and Community Action”, World Development, 25(9): 1373–80.
2.
Agarwal, Bina. (2006). ‘Social Exclusion’ Plenary Comments, Asia 2015, March 2006.
3.
Ahern, P., P. Nutti and J. M. Masterson (2000). ‘Equity in the Democratic Process: Women's Paths to Political Participation and Decision-making’ Washington, DC: International centre for Research on Women, and Washington, DC: Centre for Development and Population Activities.
4.
Akerkar, S. (I995). ‘Theory and Practice of Women's Movement in India: A Discourse Analysis”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. xxx, No. 27, 1995. pp. WS-2-WS-22.
5.
Arora, Banarsi. (1999). ‘Women in Politics: Governance in Patriarchal and Non-participatory Culture”, Guru Nanak Journal of Sociology, 20(1-2): 111–18.
6.
Banerjee, Sikata. (2003). ‘Gender and Nationalism: The Masculinisation of Hinduism and Female Political Participation in India”, Women's Studies International Forum, 26(2): 167–79.
7.
Baseline Report (1998). ‘Women and Political Participation in India’ Prepared by NIAS et ai, and coordinated by IWRAW Asia Pacific Advanced Unedited Version.
8.
Basu, Amrita (1992). Two Faces of Protest: Contrasting Modes of Women's Activism in India. Berkeley: University of California Press.
9.
Basu, Durga Das (1998). Introduction to the Constitution of India: Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi.
10.
Bilkis Vissandjée, Shelly Abdool, Alisha Apale and Sophie Dupéré (2006). ‘Women's Political Participation in Rural India: Discerning Discrepancies Through a Gender Lens’ Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 2006; 13; 425.
11.
Burns, Nancy, Kay Lehman Scholzman, and Sidney Verba (2001). The Private Roots of Public Action: Gender, Equality, and Political Participation. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
12.
Chattopadhyaya, Kamaladevi (1983). Indian Women's Battle for Freedom. New Delhi: Abhinav Press.
13.
Chhibber, Pradeep (2002). ‘Why Are Women Politically Active?-The Household, Public Space, and Political Participation in India”, www.worldvauesurvey.org
14.
Country Report (1995). Fourth World Conference on Women: Beijing.
15.
CWDS (1994). Confronting Myriad Oppressions: The Western Regional Experience, New Delhi.
16.
CWDS (1995). ‘Towards Beijing: A Perspective from the Indian Women's Movement’ New Delhi.
17.
Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) (1988). National Perspective Plan for Women 1988-2000, New Delhi.
18.
Deshpande, Rajeshwari (2004). ‘How Gendered was Women's Participation Women in Election 2004’ Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 39 (51), pp.5431-5436.
19.
Gleason, Suzanne (2001). ‘Female Political Participation and Health in India”, Annals AAPPS, 573: 105–26.
20.
Gopalan, Sarla (2002). Towards Equality-The Unfinished Agenda-Status of Women in India-2001, National Commission for Women, Government of India.
21.
Interim Narrative Report (2002-2003). Gender Studies Unit, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
22.
Kishwar, Madhu (1996). ‘Women and Politics: Beyond Quotas’ Economic and Political Weekly, XXXI, Number 43, p. 2871.
23.
Kumar, Radha (1997). The History of Doing: An Illustrated Account of Movements for Women's Rights and Feminism in India 1800-1990, Kali for Women, New Delhi.
24.
Liddle, J. and R. Joshi (1986). Daughters of Independence, New Delhi: Kali for Women.
25.
Mill, James (1817). The History of British India, with notes by H. H. Wilson, London, James Madden, 5th Ed. (1840).
26.
Mukherjee, Geeta (1997). ‘Unite and Support of One-Third Reservation for Women”, National Federation of Indian Women, New Delhi.
27.
Narasimhan, Sakuntala (1999). ‘An Overview of Past State Initiatives’ Empowering Women: An Alternative Strategy from Rural India, Sage Publications, New Delhi.
28.
Nair, Janaki (1996). Women and Law in Colonial India-A Social History, New Delhi: Kali for Women.
29.
National Centre for Advocacy Studies (1998). ‘Lok Sabha Election 1998’ Info Pack Issue No. 2 May-August.
30.
Rajan, Rajeshwari Sunder (1999). The Scandal of the State: Women, Law, and Citizenship in Post Colonial India, Delhi, Permanent Black.
31.
Sarkar, T. and U. Butalia. (1995). (eds.): Women and Right-Wing Movements: Indian Experiences, London, Zed Press.
32.
Shah, Nandita and Nandita Gandhi, (1991). ‘Do we need reservations?; The Quota Question: Women and Electoral Seats, Akshara Publications, Mumbai.
33.
Sen, Samita (2003). The Indian Women's Movement in Historical Perspective in Karin Kapadia (eds.), The Violence of Development: The Politics of Identity, Gender and Social Inequalities in India, New Delhi, Kali for Women.
34.
Swarup, H. L., Niroj Sinha, Chitra Ghosh, Pam Rajput (1994). ‘Women's Political Engagement in India,” In B. Nelson and N. Chowdhury (eds.), Women and Politics Worldwide, London: Yale University Press.
35.
Yadav, Yogendra (2000). ‘Understanding the Second Democratic Upsurge’ in Francine R Frankel, Zoya Hassan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balbeer Arora (eds.) Transforming India, Oxford.
36.
Vyasulu, P and V. Vyasulu (1999). ‘Women in Panchayati Raj: Grassroots Democracy in India,
37.
Experience in Malgudi’ Background Paper No. 4, New Delhi, United Nations Development Programme.
