While we start to talk and discuss women’s rights we all must think about the history of women’s rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movement during the 20th century. Issues commonly associated with notions of women’s rights mainly focused on the right to bodily integrity and freedom or autonomy of women but it is not enough for them. By evaluating the decade of past times we can analyze the vast changes in the progress and carrier development of women but it is not as enough as for the developing countries. The term political participation has a very wide meaning. It is not only related to ‘RIGHT TO VOTE’ but simultaneously relates to participation in the decision-making process, political activism, political consciousness, etc.
From past practice, we all introduce from the low participation of women to leading the nation and the public. What kinds of news are very miserable to see and hear. Many direct and indirect factors are stopping to grow up women from the grassland. The presence of women in politics not only affects individuals but also affects the whole family, community, and nation positively. As we know that women are more responsible to handle the bad situations of past activities and movement. So it is more essential to broaden our horizon of thinking and direction of thinking to create a smart and attractive society. We can’t say no seminars and orientation programs are been operated in the past to inspire and motivate women to make a good leading position in politics. They are operated, but it is not more effective to create a social change or establish any good system to empower women. In the past, many feminist workers contributed their whole life to increase the participation of women in the decision-making process and leading position. Many Slogans are written and spoken for women’s rights but they are not implemented in the right way.
In the present situation, women are facing many types of barriers that often make it difficult for them to exercise political power and assume leadership positions in the public sphere. The common conclusions of many surveys explain factors such as domestic responsibilities, prevailing cultural attitudes regarding the roles of women in society and lack of support from family were among the main reasons that prevented women from entering politics. I evaluate from myself that the lack of knowledge, confidence, finance, public speaking art among many women especially in developing countries, are the major obstacles in the improvement of women’s situation. Women were substantially involved in the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century and advocated for independence from Britain. Independence brought gender equality in the form of constitutional rights, but historically women’s political participation has remained low. The issue of gender equality is not the issue of women, it is the issue of human. In the context of India, it is far behind in achieving gender equality, especially in terms of representation of women in political decision making among others. Considering the share of women (49.5%) in the total population of India, their representation in parliament represents a skewed statistic, which does not befit the world’s largest democracy. As in October 2016, out of total 4118 MLAs across the country, only 9 percent were women. Between the first Lok Sabha (1952) and the sixteenth Lok Sabha (2014), women’s representation has increased from 4.4 percent to 11.9 %. A similar trend of low representation of women is also observed in the Rajya Sabha (upper house) during the entire period of the post-independence era. Women’s representation in upper house has increased 6.9 percent in to 11.4 percent from 1952 -2014, where global average of women participation in politics is 22.9% and Asian average is 16.3% India’s global rank is 88 in this regard as per the “Women Politics Map 2017”, published by the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU). Also out of 47 Asian countries, 8 SAARC countries and 5 BRICS countries the position of India’s is 31st, 5th and 4th respectively. Relatively poor performance is evident if India (11.9%) compared to the best performer Rwanda (61.3%) in terms of women representation in the parliament. As per the situation on January 1, 2017, it is observed that in 12 countries (out of 193) women’s representation in parliament was 40% or more.
The United Nations Development Program states that to advance gender justice “women must know their rights and be able to access legal systems”. And such as UN many other international bodies have stated that “the obligation of states does not only consist in passing relevant laws, but also informing women about the existence of such laws, to enable them to seek justice and realize the practice their rights”. By voting, running for office & engaging in civil society as leaders and activists, women shape laws, policies and decision making in ways that reflect their interests and needs, as well as those of their families and communities. Women’s engagement is crucial and it’s important to recognize that women are not a homogeneous group. Depending on whether women are young or older, educated or uneducated, live in rural or urban areas, they have very different life experiences that lead to different priorities & needs. Women’s representation is not the only factor, but is a critical factor for the development of inclusive, responsive & transparent democracies.in my view the equal participation of women in politics and government is integral to building strong communities and a vibrant democracy in which women & men can thrive.
It is my current research, analyze and evaluation regarding the INDIA but in the context of developing countries, most of the situations are as same as in India. As we all know, women have held the posts of president and prime minister, chief minister of various states all over the world in the past and also in present. The positive impact of women in politics is undeniable. “There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women”. No other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity or to reduce child & mortality. No other policy is as sure to improve nutrition & promote health, educating new generation”. So it’s the time to broaden our horizon of thinking and think differently from today to make a social change, to see happy faces all over the nation and also to create a better world.
BARUN BASHYAL
NOREC youth fellow