Are Women Politicians in India Really Shattering the Glass Ceiling?

by Shreyasi Singh
– India –

The UNDP’s Human Development Indices 2008 gives India a rather embarrassing rank in its crucial Gender Development Index (116th out of 157 countries). But, for many of us tracking politics in India today, the factoid is somewhat difficult to interpret.

India voted in its 15th Parliament to power in May 2009 after a mammoth, month-long exercise for 543 parliamentary constituencies. The Indian National Congress-led, left-of-center, United Progressive Alliance surprised pollsters and political pundits with its convincing victory and return to power.

This vote for stability and continuity also offered up other welcome developments. India now has an unprecedented 59 women members of parliament. That’s a record 11% representation and the first time female representation in India’s highest elected body has breached double digits. Until now, women MPs had never crossed beyond 9.02% (in 1999).

Pratibha Singh Patil occupies the majestic presidential palace in New Delhi, a woman and the first one to do so. In early June, 64-year-old Meira Kumar, a five-term member of parliament and a former career diplomat, was elected unopposed by a voice vote in the lower house of parliament as its speaker or chairperson. She is India’s first woman and Dalit (from the Untouchable caste) speaker. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the event a “historic occasion” as another woman, Congress President Sonia Gandhi – undoubtedly the real power behind Singh’s government – smiled approvingly.

These make for potent images, and one hopes they will shatter glass ceilings for millions of women across India. But, sociologists aren’t bringing out the champagne just yet.

“This is at best a symbolic placement of women in strategic positions – by men. This will not empower women. It’s important to remember that many in India did not think Patil was the best choice for president. Many still see her as lame-duck, unworthy and a Congress Party stooge,” says Imtiaz Ahmed, a well-known sociologist at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. “The power structure remains intact, and firmly in the control of men, even if there are more women representatives. Only if women can dent power structures can change be tangible. Till then, empowerment remains a distant dream.”

The increase in women representation might be encouraging for us, but according to the Geneva-based Inter Parliamentary Union, India still lags behind the world average of 18.4% of all parliamentary seats occupied by women.

There has also been little, if any, change in the number of women candidates fielded by mainstream political parties, with the proportion remaining resolutely under 1 in every 10 candidates. Politicians say women candidates have low winnability even as statistics prove otherwise. In the five parliamentary elections since 1996, 12.5% of women candidates have emerged victorious against an average of 8.3% for men. Obviously, fresh excuses need to be devised.

But, are our newly-elected women MPs up to the task of creating alternative definitions, sources and routes to power? A background check on the 59 women representatives certainly does not inspire much hope, considering at least 36 of them, or almost a staggering two-thirds, are close relatives of male politicians, and have piggybacked to parliament on the strong shoulders of a famous last name.

In itself, “dynasty politics” is a worrisome trend in India. The Indian parliament and state legislatures across the country are replete with cases of fathers, sons, brothers, nephews and cousins making politics a sort of “family-run business”, inherited and bequeathed. Access, opportunity and the spoils of power are confined to linkages of blood.

Political observers reckon women MPs are more likely to be from political families than their male counterparts. The northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest, most populous and immensely crucial to its politics, is a good case in point. At 12, it has sent the largest number of women to parliament. But, even here, their victory seems like a hand-me-down. There are three political widows, two daughters-in-laws, three wives and one daughter of established male politicians. It’ll be more than a stretch to affix the self-made, been-through-the-grind tag on the remaining three either. One is a film star, the other a high-profile wife of a mega-wealthy corporate hotshot, and the third the wife of a former senior police officer with enviable political links. Sadly, other Indian states offer up similar examples.

“Kinship is very strong in our system. Family is our dominant social structure, and the road to power definitely comes from family, especially for women,” explains Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director of the Centre for Social Research, a non-profit fighting for gender equality in India since 1983.

“But, even in the elite political families some of our new women MPs come from, their elevation comes only in the absence of a viable male political heir. Where there are sons or brothers, the women aren’t propelled to the forefront,” adds Dr. Kumari.

Imtiaz Ahmed says India’s Council of Ministers also reeks of similar discrimination. “One does not get a sense of women having arrived, even in Parliament. No shattering of glass there, for sure. All the important ministries have gone to men and women have been saddled with softer, less critical assignments,” he elaborates. “Even in the parliamentary board of mainstream parties, there are very few women.”

To ensure wide, far-reaching representation, India must enact the Women’s Reservation Bill, a contentious piece of legislation which, if passed, will reserve one-third of parliamentary and state legislature seats for women candidates. The bill was first introduced in September 1996. It’s been re-introduced three more times, but has never been passed due to staunch opposition by some parties.

But, women in leadership are now making the right noises. In the inaugural session of the newly constituted Parliament, President Pratibha Patil announced that the United Progress Alliance government has put the Women’s Reservation Bill on its 100 days agenda. There is also a promise of 50% reservation for women at the panchayat or local body level.

International convention and practice is on the side of the Women’s Reservation Bill. The Inter-Parliamentary Union says ninety countries have some kind of quota for women. That’s almost half the countries of the world.

“If we don’t forcibly break the barrier, it will not happen,” asserts Dr. Kumari. “We need more women in policy making. We need to expand their space. Right now, the space is so narrow that it gets consumed by the elite, upper-class women. If we want genuine representation, we need to create enough viable opportunities.”

First-time MP Minakshi Natarajan is confident in the sweeping changes. A former student leader, 36-year-old Natarajan is a rare exception to the family code of politics. The daughter of middle-class, retired parents with no political connections, Natarajan rose up through the ranks of the India National Congress’ Youth Wing to be given a parliamentary ticket. She was elected with a comfortable margin against an elderly, well-entrenched opponent who seemed almost invincible.

“We owe it to the people of India who have elected us. It is now our chance to prove them right, to demonstrate to them that they made the right decision. Now, we need to perform,” says Natarajan. “I am certain we will. The election of many women parliamentarians will have a genuine, positive impact on the ground.”

Another young woman politician, 25-year-old Lubna Asif, says being a woman can offer rare insights. A journalist and social volunteer, she was the youngest candidate to contest the recent elections. Lubna did not manage a win from her high-profile Gautam Budh Nagar constituency on the outskirts of Delhi. But, she says, she has forged bonds she is determined to nurture.

“As a woman, I got special access to people’s homes. In villages, it isn’t always easy for a man to enter somebody’s house. But, I could go in and women would confide in me,” she says. “Even now, although I haven’t won and am not their elected representative, many women call me with their problems. I think it does take a woman to understand another woman’s perspective.”

Lubna and Minakshi are voices India needs to carefully heed as it attempts to negotiate and push into legislation the landmark Women’s Reservation Bill. Will the wait finally be over for Indian women? Can the finishing line really be less than a hundred days away? Or, will it get pushed ahead yet again?

About the Author
Shreyasi Singh is an independent journalist based in New Delhi, India. After graduating in journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, Delhi, Shreyasi worked as a correspondent and input editor in mainstream Indian news networks for six years. After having her son, Agastya, she decided to focus on her two loves – writing and being a hands-on mother.
She now writes regularly for Civil Society, an independent monthly magazine that profiles social change leaders and social entreprenuers from across India. Her feature articles on emerging trends in Indian society have also been broadcast across South East Asia on Radio Singapore International. Shreyasi finds the process of writing fascinating – how some thoughts, a few conversations, an empty word document, and deft fingers can create a little slice of history.
Shreyasi enjoys travelling and reading, and hopes to someday write a book.