The Struggle of Being a Women in Politics
Author:- Shagun Shrivastava and Ananya Bose
Keyword- Women, Politics, India, Employment, Empowerment, Upliftment, Safety, Prime Minister, Legislative Assembly, MLA
INTRODUCTION
‘Women in Politics’ this phrase draws the attention of the whole Indian community for a variety of reasons. Whether it is the patriarchal attitude or a moment of pride. The persistent implication of this term always represents the struggle behind it. India boasts about being the first country in the world to have a female Prime Minister. However, it fails to address its 144th place among 187 countries in terms of female representation in its Parliament.[1]
“Women in India find favor, but not votes”, using this phrase won’t be wrong. Looking at the data provided by the recent Legislative Assembly election by Pew Survey on Indian Gender Roles (2022).[2] The current Lok Sabha has the highest number of female MPs, which is 14% of the total seats. Although, the analysis of overall data provided by India Today’s Data Intelligence Unit (DIU) reveals the bitter truth. While we discuss this crucial topic The Women’s Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill which seeks to provide 1/3rd of the seats reserved in the Lok Sabha and all the State Legislative Assemblies remains pending in the male-dominated Lok Sabha since 2010.
What does the data show
What can be inferred about the politics of a country which has only 9% of female representation in its decision-making?
Contrary to the figure of its recent population survey which shows 1,020 females per 1000 males?
The irony remains in the election manifesto carried by every political party that talks of women’s empowerment. Women’s safety, and upliftment but is shy of fielding women as leaders. This unfortunate system of our country does not end here. The struggle a woman has to face to get her foothold in politics is unmatched. She has to face false propaganda, discrimination, social satires, sexual harassment, and whatnot. This article questions our tendency of focusing on a few instances of female leaders and neglecting the larger picture. The article aims to highlight the need of the hour. What kind of future can we imagine when a country whose future lies in the hands of its government and admittance into that government itself is barred due to prejudice and propaganda?
IMPACT AND ROLE OF WOMEN LEADERS IN INDIA
In this segment of our article, we try to analyze the impact of female leaders in the Indian Political System. We try to take into account public perceptions of their moral standing, political mobilization, party management, etc.
Indira Gandhi
Both Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi entered politics because of their family ties. However, later their political experiences have been different. Indira Gandhi emerged as a powerful leader in our country and was made the Prime Minister of our country by Congress. As the party felt that it would benefit them to have someone with Nehru ties. Famously described as “Goongi Gudiya” in the earlier stages of her career. She emerged as a strong leader within a few years and took control of the party. Served as a plebiscitary leader, or someone who could appeal to the general public without going via her party/administration. She did, however, come under fire for her autocratic leadership style. The Emergency and attempts to personalize and consolidate power also undermined the Congress party.
Sonia Gandhi
Her daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi who controls the party today has been praised for adjusting to the Indian customs and culture through being Italian. She has also been admired for reviving a dead party in the 1990s. But she couldn’t escape criticism over the Bofors affair, for having weak administrative skills, for the policy gridlock during the UPA-II administration, and for retaining the party as a family-holding by endorsing her son Rahul Gandhi. Despite not emerging as an independent leader, she continues to derive support in the party due to the lack of suitable leadership. However, this category of women leading political parties which were associated with a patriarchal figure is not just limited to them. A much younger generation of educated females is entering the field. Some examples of the same would be Samajwadi Party, Akali Dal, and the DMK where wives and daughters play a supplementary role.
Sheila Dixit
Sheila Dixit, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, honest and popular image overshadowed the fact that she was the daughter-in-law of Congress leader Uma Shankar Dixit. She held the office for three terms she was able to expand the Delhi metro and established a new bus system for the territory. She also improved roads and transport system which helped her earn support.
Jayalalitha
Jayalalitha, a former actress turned politician has been described as a ruthless and authoritarian leader as well as an able chief minister. Her association with MGR helped her to rise as a political leader. She began with a challenging apprenticeship under MGR where she learned how to survive in a largely male political environment. She then successfully competed with V. Janaki, the widow of MGR, for control of the AIADMK. She has also resisted efforts by the DMK patriarch Karunanidhi and his partymen to damage her reputation and behave inappropriately with her in the Assembly. Usually called Amma, she has been able to establish herself as a powerful leader. Despite the corruption charges and a luxurious lifestyle, she is compared to the modern-day “Tamiltaay”. Who is someone who has mother-like qualities, a virginal goddess at the same time also promoting the Tamilian language.
Mayawati
Mayawati, though a Dalit woman in a state whose political scene is dominated by Brahmin men emerged as a strong opposition against the chief minister of UP. Many people believed she wouldn’t be able to bear the rigors of Dalit politics when she was chosen. She was coached by Kanshi Ram for the All India Backward and Minority Com Federation (BAMCEF) in the middle of the 1980s. It is believed she endangered her life and her person in the well-known guest house incident in middle of 1990s. Due to hired thugs of the SP, but she was stronger for the experience.
During her tenure as Chief Minister, she not only tried to promote Dalit interests but also developed the backward regions of the state. However, she has also come under fire for being a very corrupt politician whose relatives have gained wealth. Also, for failing the Dalit struggle by making concessions to upper-caste organizations and parties.
Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee rose to power without any family connections only through her determination. She has many feathers in her cap: getting elected to Lok Sabha 5 times from the south Kolkata constituency. She was also a youth congress leader: after that, she also formed her party TMC. However, the most remarkable of all achievements is defeating the communist party. Which was in power after almost 30 years, a task that could not be complemented by the opposition congress party. Similar to Jayalalithaa, a colorful and unconventional woman leader with large support bases, a charismatic personality, and “populist appeal,”. Banerjee deviates from socially acceptable norms of feminine behaviour.
She is renowned for being unpredictable, ruthless, and volatile, as well as having complete control over the party. Having mastery of the timing of public gestures and the manipulation of public sentiment. She is unmarried, from a lower middle-class family, still wears cheap khadi sarees, and slippers, and budgets her living expenses at her old home in a busy south Kolkata neighborhood. Banerjee hasn’t shown much evidence of being able to run West Bengal well, though. Instead, she is a “street warrior” willing to gherao (ambush) political figures, and participate in protests and sit-ins, even as chief minister, for social and political causes. Her supporters liken her to the goddess Durga and a tigress because of the two traits of feminine bravery and intolerance for injustice, which people find uncommon in politics.
Rabri Devi
Unlike the other women who had popular support, Rabri Devi was seen as a model wife behaving according to her husband’s command. She was brought to power by Lalu Prasad Yadav who was arrested in a fodder scam. She held the position for three successive periods. Rabri Devi was able to capitalize on the renown of her husband and the complex patronage network he set up for the Yadav community. After RJD was defeated in 2005, she lost the respect of the electorate and the political landscape, which diminished her power and capacity to cope with the bureaucracy and party workers.
When given chance, a female leader is as capable as a male leader to govern the country efficiently. A beautiful enactment of this can be seen in a web series named “Maharani” where, similar to the situation of Rabri Devi becoming CM. Rani Bharti takes the oath, but unlike Rabri Devi, Rani Bharti runs the government on her ethics and morale. The series well-equips the public with the challenges of female politicians.[3]
FALSE PROPAGANDA AGAINST FEMALE POLITICIANS
Today’s politics have created a world of alternative facts where false statements are used to influence the public to further political agendas. Often women leaders are easier to target when it comes to spreading lies. Here, we will take into consideration a few prominent women leaders who claim to have fake rumours spread against them to analyze the false propaganda against women leaders in India. Mamata Banerjee, on multiple occasions, alleged that the BJP government is spreading lies over social media about the TMC party. The chief minister has asked that the Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police improve their cybercrime units to address cybercrime problems with the utmost attention during the West Bengal elections in 2021.
A social media post that claimed the state government had imposed several restrictions during Durga Puja prompted the warning to be delivered. A few persons were detained when the chief minister instructed the police to crack down. Right before the Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee was quoted as saying that she would show how to make Hindus weep if she won all 42 seats in the state of West Bengal. The whole front page of a vernacular newspaper in West Bengal was photo-shopped to spread this fake information. The Bhartiya Janata Party IT cell was lately the target of a subtly worded criticism from the chief minister, who suggested that it was responsible for some of the false posts and rumours.[4]
Spreading False Facts
Former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary, Jayalalitha has also mentioned that the DMK has been indulging in spreading false facts against the minister. She alleged that the opposition party was using their family-controlled electronic media to spread misinformation that her party has failed to fulfill the promises of the 2011 elections. She said that although the current administration had delivered on the promises made in its election manifesto from 2011.
The DMK, on the other hand, had rehashed some of those promises from its manifesto from 2006. Regarding the Mullaperiyar situation, Ms. Jayalalithaa stated that her administration was working arduously to guarantee that the dam water level was raised to its maximum of 152 feet. She added, ridiculing the position of the opposition party, that the DMK had pledged in its election program to keep pressing the Centre to guarantee the efficient execution of the SC ruling to increase the water level to 142 feet.[5]
National Herald Money Laundering Case
In the National Herald money laundering case, the congress has alleged the Modi government is trying to harass senior leaders. Like Sonia Gandhi by subjecting them to long hours of questioning by the ED. Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were accused by Union Minister Smriti Irani of taking part in a scheme worth several thousand crores. Using hawala operators as their go-betweens, and misusing contributions received by the Congress party. She said that by doing so, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi seized assets worth thousands of crores that belonged to AJL.
According to Randeep Surjewala, a spokesman for the Congress, neither Rahul nor Sonia Gandhi profited financially from this arrangement. He said that the National Herald newspapers owner, AJL, was unable to pay its employees; wages and that Young Indian, owned by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, stepped in to save the day. According to Surjewala, the authorities have been looking into this matter for the past seven to eight years and have not discovered any inconsistencies or unlawful activity. According to him, the loans were settled by turning them into shares. Thus, the funds raised by allocating stock were used to pay wages to employees. He insisted that everything was open and transparent.[6]
AAP Government
The former Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dixit had mentioned that the AAP government is taking credit for the work done by the congress during her term as chief minister. She claimed Mr. Kejriwal was claiming credit for the development activities carried out by the Congress administration during its 15-year tenure and that the AAP government had not done any development work in the previous four years. She said that when it came to their Mohalla clinics and other healthcare facilities, the AAP administration was misleading Delhi residents.[7]
Mayawati, the leader of the BSP, stated that she would reject any offer of the position of president. She claimed that the BJP and the RSS had misled her followers by spreading the rumor that she would be made the president if the BJP won power in Uttar Pradesh.
Moreover, there are many women politicians at the state and Panchayati raj levels who are subjected to such false rumors. Therefore, from multiple instances and figures, we can see how women politicians have been targeted by the opposition party to lower their image in the eyes of the public. This is the dirty reality of petty politics. Which poses a struggle for a female to enter and sustain in politics, especially in Indian society.
THE WOMEN ‘s RESERVATION BILL
The bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2008 but sadly has been neglected and kept aside these days. It failed to get assent from the Lok Sabha and thus, remains a Bill unpassed since 2010. This bill aimed to reserve 1/3rd of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. Among the already reserved seats of the ST/SC category 1/3rd was aimed to be reserved for the female candidates for that category.
Parties opposed this law, that it will promote women to higher positions based on favoritism rather than merit. They will be treated unequally, due to their reserved seats. They also claim that Parliamentary seat reservations limit voters’ options to female candidates. This view shows the mindset of patriarchy in our country. This faction neither wants nor allows women to enter the political regime. It appears that male domination neither wilfully wants deserving female candidates to play in the form nor wants them to gain any opportunity served by this Bill.
The Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice submitted its 36th Report on ‘The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008’ on December 17, 2009. The Chairperson was Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan. The Committee strongly recommended that reservation is needed to ensure the participation of women to make the democratic process inclusive.[8] The proposal to extend this reservation for 15 years was made. The dissenting opinion was presented in the committee by Shri Virendra Bhatia and Shri Shailendra Kumar. They believed that political parties should provide 20% of the tickets to female candidates. Although the reservation is not made in the form which is presented by this Bill.
Panchayati Raj
Reservation for women in Panchayati Raj is example of how the participation of more females can be ensured in governance. Reservation is not an ever-lasting thing, it aims to correct and balance the discrepancies in society. Thus, this Bill is important for participation and opportunity for female candidates. Which they deserve, which is snatched from them due to the above-mentioned reasons.
CONCLUSION
None of us are unaware of the struggle females have undertaken in the past due to prejudice against them in Indian society. A ray of hope was seen after the Independence. But sadly we failed to provide them the opportunity they deserved in the true sense. All the claims of women empowerment by the country failed after the bitter truth of politics in India. The game of muscle and money power too plays a big role in keeping women away from attaining a higher position in politics. Sadly, opportunities for female candidates have become a qualified topic for gaining popularity and votes in elections.
The women of new India is educated, self-independent, and knows to take decisions for herself. We hope that soon we will not need to count by hand as to how many women have held higher office positions. Like the president, prime minister, chief minister, or similar posts in the country. Especially we hope for a time when we do not boast about a woman taking up any higher position and it appears common to us.
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References
[1] IPU Parline, Global Data on national Parliaments, https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=11&year=2022, 13-12-2022, 10:33 am
[2] Business Standard, Women leaders find favour, but not votes in India, say Pew survey, https://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/women-leaders-find-favour-but-not-votes-in-india-say-pew-survey-122032700824_1.html, 13-12-2022, 10:48 am.
[3] PAI, S. (2012). FROM DYNASTY TO LEGITIMACY: Women Leaders in Indian Politics. India International Centre Quarterly, 39(3/4), 107–121. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24394279.
[4] Busting fake news is Mamata Banerjee’s key battle strategy for 2021 polls (2020) Hindustan Times. Available at:https://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/busting-fake-news-is-mamata-banerjee-s-key-battle-strategy-for-2021-polls/story-f7HLyCeax9EtFNkn31dKPL.html (Accessed: December 28, 2022).
[5] DMK indulging in false propaganda: Jayalalithaa (2016) Return to frontpage. Available at: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/dmk-indulging-in-false-propaganda-jayalalithaa/article8491666.ece (Accessed: December 28, 2022).
[6] Mitra, H. (2022) Opinion: National herald case: Money laundering or political vendetta?, English. Available at: https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/opinion-national-herald-case-money-laundering-or-political-vendetta-aaj-ki-baat-with-rajat-sharma-blogpost-2022-06-14-784498 (Accessed: December 28, 2022).
[7] Reporter, S. (2019) Kejriwal taking credit for work done by Congress Govt.: Dikshit, Return to frontpage. Available at: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/kejriwal-taking-credit-for-work-done-by-congress-govt-dikshit/article26039334.ece (Accessed: December 28, 2022).
[8] Standing Committee Report Summary, The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill,
2008. PRS Legislative Research, https://prsindia.org/files/bills_acts/bills_parliament/2008/Women_reservation_Bill_Standing_Committee_Report_Summary.pdf, 19-12-2022, 8:40 pm
