QUOTA IS NOT ENOUGH

• India began its road towards becoming a democratic republic on a positive note because the Constitution was written with political equality for men and women at its core.
• However, men now make up a disproportionate amount of the political class in our country.
• The recent passage of women’s reservation bill is indeed a historic moment but its implementation is yet to be seen.
• This article will discuss and compare the position of India with other countries with respect to women’s representation in politics.

Statistics:

• 2% of Lok Sabha members were female in 1997 (the most recent year for which comparable global figures are available).
• This percentage has doubled to 15.2 percent today.
• Even though there has been development, it has been far slower than the worldwide average and has also been sluggish.
• According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a global association of national parliaments, the proportion of women MPs has increased from 12.7% to 26.7% during the same time period.
• As a result, whereas India was ranked 94 out of 179 countries in 1997, it has dropped numerous positions since then and is now ranked 141 out of 185.
• If the recommendations that the Bill proposes were to take effect right away and this share increased to 33 percent, we would be ranked number 54, just below our neighbor Nepal.
• However, we do not yet know when the Bill will take effect. The 33 percent quota is unlikely to place us in the top 50 countries, or even close to them, if it takes another ten years or more.

Other countries which are making efforts to improve political representation of women.

• India is not the only country making an effort to improve the political representation of women.
• In comparison to the advancements some other nations have achieved, what may seem like a radical stride to us is actually a tiny one.
• Just last year, Sierra Leone held its first elections following the passage of a new law requiring parties to field at least 30% female candidates, while Mongolia increased the female candidate quota from 20% to 30%.
• In fact, according to data provided by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 69 nations have some type of legally mandated candidate-level quotas for women in the lower (or single) house of Parliament.
• Like India, another 30 nations reserve seats for women.
• A prime example is Iceland, where women make up 47.6% of the parliament.

Electoral Quotas for women:

• As some parties in Australia had voluntary quotas, an IPU analysis found that women’s representation increased by roughly 8 percentage points in the election of 2022.
• Every year, the IPU has found in its analysis of parliamentary elections around the world that electoral quotas for women had the greatest impact on the proportion of women who are elected.
• But it’s important to keep in mind that this is only achievable if the quotas are applied in the appropriate way.
• They might not be able to achieve much if they are only made to check boxes. For instance, Kazakhstan implemented a 30% quota for both women and young people in 2020. In fact, there were more women running in the subsequent election in 2021, but due to a clear design flaw, this had no impact on the proportion of women who were elected.
• On the other hand, regulations have been changed over time in Mexico and Costa Rica to make sure that parties do not run women in races they are certain to lose.
• In actuality, Mexico’s parliament is balanced, but Costa Rica’s parliament includes 47.4% female lawmakers.

India’s Scenario:

• As the electoral process and quota system in India are different, the potential of becoming a ceiling rather than a floor is one difficulty with reservations, though.
• Political parties’ openness and all stakeholders’ attention to detail are what matter.
• The importance of India’s political parties in this situation cannot be overstated. Their poor track record here speaks for itself. Nothing has prevented them from nominating more women candidates throughout the years.
• But on average, just 10% of candidates in the last five years’ assembly elections and only 6% to 9% of candidates in the Lok Sabha elections since 2000 have been female.
• Since the beginning, India has had a universal adult franchise. It also boasts one of the greatest rates of female representation at the municipal level and has seen women ascend to the highest levels of political hierarchies considerably earlier than many other nations.

Way Forward:

• India now has the chance and capability to create more motivating precedents.
• Political parties need to improve in this area and aid in helping the nation reach its full potential.
• In light of this, the current period, in which the Women’s Reservation Bill, formerly in limbo, has become a reality, is genuinely historic.
• The excitement of the occasion has been diminished by the lack of a defined schedule, but it still holds great promise and potential.