only-9-5-per-cent-of-candidates-in-lok-sabha-polls-are-women-study-reveals

Women only make up 10 per cent of candidates contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha polls in the country, according to a report published by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) here on Wednesday.

Although making up nearly half of the total electorate in the country, women get a mere 9.5 per cent representation in the ongoing polls.

 

Out of 8,337 candidates analysed by ADR, only 797 were women, representing a mere 9.5 per cent of the total candidates contesting across the seven phases of the elections.

 

The ongoing election is the first since the Women's Reservation Bill, aimed at increasing the participation of women in political affairs of the country got President Droupadi Murmu’s assent.

 

The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, reserves one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. The legislation will be enforced after a cenus and delimitation of the constituencies following which  seat allocation for women will be finalised.

 

In the first phase of the elections, just 135 of the 1,618 candidates were women.

 

This pattern was retained in succeeding stages, with women applicants accounting for just a modest proportion of the total.

 

Phase 2 had 1,192 applicants, of whom 1,198 affidavits were reviewed, with up to 100 being women.

 

Phase 3 had 1,352 applicants, including 123 women and 244 with criminal records.

 

In phase 4, affidavits from 1,710 out of 1,717 applicants were reviewed, with 170 being women.

 

Phase 5 had the fewest candidates (695), with 82 women, whereas Phase 6 evaluated affidavits from 866 out of 869 applicants, with 92 women.

 

In phase 7, there will be 904 contestants, with just 95 being women.

 

It has since become a debate among analysts, who suggest political parties do not need reservations to give tickets to women politicians; they can exercise it without implementing the bill.

 

Dr. Sushila Ramaswamy, Professor at Delhi University's Jesus and Mary College, was reported by media sources as saying, "Political parties should have been more proactive and fielded more women candidates."

 

Dr. Iftekhar Ahmad Ansari, Associate Professor at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), voiced similar sentiments, stating, "Political parties must prioritise gender inclusion in candidate selection and provide adequate support to women aspirants."

 

Prof. Mohammad Aftab Alam of AMU's political science department emphasised the difficulties that women frequently encounter while formulating autonomous political beliefs in the face of societal forces.

 

"Even those elected are often relegated to symbolic roles," he remarked, underscoring the larger concerns of token representation.