KERALA WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT

Transcription

1 KERALA WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT Women were deprived throughout history, However some exceptions to women s dependence on men did exist, In Ancient Babylonia and Egypt women enjoyed property right, and in the medieval Europe some women had religious authority, such as Egyptian and Byzantine queens, heads of medieval nunneries and Iroquois women, who appointed men to clan councils. A few highly cultivated women flourished in the ancient civilizations of Rome, China, India and medieval Europe 1. Women had proved their administrative talent on many occasions. Razia Sultana ( ), the only women sultan of Delhi who showed her extraordinary talent in administration. She was trained to lead armies and administrate the kingdom. In spite of the strong opposition from the religious fundamentalists, she ruled the country very effectively. But these are odd incidents in the annals of the history. In general women are unwelcomed in politics. 1 Women s Suffrage, Microsoft Encarta Microsoft Corporation. 120

2 The traditional outlook has not changed so much as to do way with the dichotomous division of society. House is still considered as the narrow restricted boundary and is still considered as the right place for women. The restriction on women s movement, engagement in domestic work obstructs her exposure to the outside world. The primary role of women in our society is still considered as wives, mother, child bearers, whatever may be their level of education and professional career. Men are unwilling to encourage females coming into public spheres, pursue powers and assume position. Not only in political but also in other public spheres women are always subdued 2. But women are generally encouraged to participate in some way in political process. Mass political participation is regarded as one of the features of the modern political unit that is democracy. Voting is the basic activity by which the citizen gets assimilated in the political process. Political participation is the hallmark of democracy and modernization. It is defined political participation as the activity to provide citizens designed to influence governmental decision-making. Political participation denotes a series of voluntary activities which have a bearing on political process. 2 Kumar. A. (ed.) Indian Women in Politics, Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd, Lucknow, 2006, p

3 The activities mainly are 1) Voting at the polls. 2) Supporting possible pressure groups by being a member of them. 3) Personally communicating with legislator. 4) Active Participation in political parties 3. Women s Suffrage movement Women s Suffrage means right of women to share on equal terms regarding the political privileges par with men afforded by representative government including vote in elections and referendums and to hold public office. But women excluded from voting right and discouraged from participating in political process. Rudimentary forms of democracy have existed all over the world in the form of local regional assemblies which deliberated on matters affecting the community and made collective decisions. These include the Sabha and the Samiti in the post- Vedic India, the democracy of Greek city states and many in variety of societies around the world. However, the maturation of democracy at national level can be traced during post-1688 England. Though it was extremely limited, gradually parliament emerged supreme. This was followed by the American and French Revolutions. Later in the 3 Kalpana Roy, Women In Indian politics, Rajat Publications, New Delhi, 1999, pp

4 nineteenth century democracy become more popular, although they were very limited democracies, with formally limited franchise, and would not be compared as full democracies by today s standard 4. Under the autocratic forms of government that prevailed in ancient times suffrage was unknown theory to the people. During the middle Ages, under the feudal regimes however suffrage was so restricted even among men, that enfranchisement of women never becomes a political issue. Women discernibly arose in Europe in the late 18 th century and started campaign to obtain political, social, and economic equality between the men and women. This women s right movement was also known as Feminism and women s liberation. The women s suffrage movement started during the mid of the 19 th century, first formal women s convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York 5, lasted about 70 years, leading to the passage of the 19 th amendment of the united States. English women won full voting privileges later than American women, but women in both countries began the worldwide suffrage movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia C Mott and Susan B Anthony were the early leaders of the Women s right movement. They organised American National Women Suffrage 4 E. Sridharan, Global Dimensions of Electoral Democracy, Papers presented at International Symposium, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, 2001, p.2. 5 Barbara Goldsmith, Other Powers: the age of Suffrage, Spiritualism and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull, A.A Knopf, 1998, p

5 Association 6 which worked for the adoption of women s suffrage in all states. On 10 December 1869, the Wyoming 7 gave women the right to vote 8. The American Suffragist movement scored its final victory shortly after the First World War. In 1919 Congress approved the 19 th Amendment to the US Constitution, which granted voting right to women 9. In England the first reform bill was passed in 1832 which granted voting right to limited persons who had certain qualifications. However women possessing those qualifications were not allowed to vote. It resulted in the agitations of British women for their rights particularly suffrage 10. In 1865, the first British women s suffrage association was formed. Mary Wollstonecraft and Emmeline Pankhurst were the pioneer feminist. The movement s later stages witnessed more vigorous and violent tactics by the Suffragettes. Because of the provocative behaviour of the suffragettes, government passed many acts including Cat and Mouse Act 11. Under 6 Lucile Davis, Susan B Anthony- A photo illustrated Biography, Capstone Press, USA, 1998, p Wyoming is a state in United States of America. 8 Larry A Van Meter, Women Win the Vote: The hard-fought battle for Women s Suffrage, Enslow Publishers Inc., USA, 2009, p Sonja C Grover, Young people s Human Rights and the politics of Voting age, Springer, London, p Berinice A. Carroll (ed.), Liberating Women s History Theoretical and Critical Essays, Illini Books edition, United states of America,1976, p Cat and Mouse Act is the nick name of a British law of 1913 the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act- that allowed the government to release and later re-imprison Suffragettes who went on hunger strike in jail. 124

6 pressure in 1918, the parliament enfranchised all women householders, householder s wives and Women University graduates over 30 years of age. Later in 1928, parliament lowered the voting age to 18 giving complete political equality with men 12. Even before that, New Zealand becomes the first nation in the world to grant voting right to their women citizen in Australia followed it in1902. Finland and Norway granted voting rights to their women citizens in 1906 and 1913 respectively. Shortly after the First World War, many countries like Russia (1917), Canada (1918), Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland (1919) granted voting rights for women. It was a great inspiration for Indian women to launch such a movement in India. There were only 39 democracies in the world in 1974, consisting of only 27% of the independent states in the world then. By 1990, the number had increased to 76 out of 169 states. In 1999, 120 out of 191 countries had democratic form of government 14. Women s Suffrage movement in India In 1917 Annie Besant, the Irish theosophist who urged Indian women to join the Home Rule League and the Swadeshi Movement, 12 Women s Suffrage-microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Microsoft Corporation. 13 Routledge, International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women s issues and knowledge, Vol I, New -York, 2000, p E. Sridharan, Global Dimensions of Electoral Democracy, Papers presented at international Symposium, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, 2001, p

7 founded the women s India Association (WIA) in Madras. Similarly, Lady Aberdeen, Lady Tata and others, founded the National Council of Women in India in All India women conference (AIWC) was founded in 1927 through the efforts of Margaret Cousins, and others. In 1917 Women s India Association raised the issue of women suffrage 15. The first step towards women s suffrage in India was with the demand for franchise that a delegation of Indian women made to Secretary of State Edwin Montague in 1917.The Indian National Congress supported women suffrage. Accordingly, the 1919 Government of India Act granted restricted franchise to women based on wifehood, property and education. Meanwhile in Bombay presidency, the women suffrage campaign appeared to be more vigorous as nineteen women s associations and over 800 women including some European women participated 16. The Montague Chelmsford reforms of 1919 entrusted the work of giving women the right to vote to the legislature of the respective provinces. Accordingly, M. Krishnan Nair, an active member of the Justice party introduced a resolution in the Madras Legislative Council on 1 April 1921 for the removal of sex discrimination in voting. The resolution was passed and women got voting right in the madras presidency. Even then, they were denied to be elected in the legislature. In April 1926 the government of India by amending the 15 Kalpana Roy, op.cit, p Ibid, pp

8 electoral rules of the act of 1919 granted the right to the women of India to become the member of the legislatures. This opened the way for women to be elected to the legislatures. Women candidate like Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya and Haren Angelo contested in South Canara and Madras constituencies. But both of them were unable to won the elections. The government nominated Dr. Muttulakshmi Reddy to the Madras legislative council. Thus Muthulakshmi Reddy, a highly motivated women and a doctor by profession become one of the first female legislators. Later she was elected as the deputy speaker of the house. Even though women organisations and individuals made effort for women s voting right, women in India did not have to go through the travails of the suffragette agitations in Germany or the United Kingdom 17. Promised as early as 1928 in the Nehru report, it was written into the Constitution in The pursuit of equality in a society with multiple layers of hierarchy has not been an easy one. During the independence, less than 12 per cent of the population was literate; most of the women had never had the right to vote. Only one third of the people in British India had the right to vote in the provincial elections. The vote to central legislature was even more restricted, with ninety per cent of the people having no rights at all E.Sridharan, op.cit, p Ibid, pp

9 The Parliament Legislature of the India is called Parliament. The Parliament consist of the President and two houses- the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the people (Lok Sabha). (As in article 79 of the Constitution of India) 19. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect, members representing States are elected by elected members of the Legislative assemblies of the state in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, and those representing Union Territories are chosen in such manner as parliament may by law prescribe. The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution; one third of its members retire every second year. The constitution provides that the Rajya Sabha shall consist of 12 members to be nominated by the President from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service, and not more than 238 representatives of the States and Union Territories. Rajya Sabha, although the Constitution provides for 250 members at present, has only 245 seats 20. The Lok Sabha is the Lower House, which composed of representatives of people chosen by direct elections on the basis of 19 Manorama Year Book, 2003, p India 2009 : A Reference Annual, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, p

10 adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is now 552 (530 to represent the states, 20 to represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo- Indian community to be nominated by the President). The total elective membership of the Lok Sabha is distributed among the states in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each state and the population of the State is, as far as practicable the same for all States. The Lok Sabha present consists of 545 members 21. It is easy to track progress in women s share of seats in national Parliaments than in other public decision making positions. As for as political participation of women are concerned, they won right to vote as early as from 1921 and they have held high political officers like Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Governors etc. Yet their participation in the elections disappointingly low. For instance in1962 election there were only 66 women among the 1985 candidates and the Lok Sabha had only 31 members of the fair sex in the house of India 2010 : A Reference Annual, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, pp Key High Lights on General Elections, 1962 of Third Lok Sabha, pp

11 Number of Women Elected to Lok Sabha General Elections No. of women elected Percentage First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Even though the participation of women in parliament is nominal, it shows a gradual growth for the past 60 years. 130

12 Women in Parliament with reference to Kerala The political situation in Kerala made Lok Sabha an unapproachable place for women. Even in this negative situation some women managed to enter Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and made extensive work for the people. Detailed review of participation of women of Kerala in parliamentary process is followed. The first general election to the free India was held in As it was before the formation of Kerala seats were distributed Travancore Cochin and Madras Presidency. Travancore- Cochin had 12 Parliamentary constituencies and one constituency share two seats to Lok- Sabha women got elected to the Lok Sabha. Indian National Congress got majority in the Lok Sabha and formed government under the Prime minister-ship of Jawaharlal Nehru. The general election to the second Lok Sabha was held in 1957, the first election after the formation of modern Kerala. The Lok Sabha had 403 constituencies for which, 45 women contested and 22 elected to the Lok Sabha 24. The State had 16 Lok Sabha constituencies for which 60 candidates were in fray. Kumari Anne Mascrene, an independent contested from Thiruvananthapuram was 23 Statistical Report on General Elections,1951 to First Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, pp Statistical Report on General Elections,1957 to Second Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p

13 the only woman candidate even though she lost in the election 25. The Indian National Congress repeated its 1952 success and retained in power. After five years the third general election was held in In the election 66 women contested for the total 494 seats, 31 got elected. In this election the constituencies in Kerala was increased from 16 to 18. But like the previous elections, Sarojini of Indian National Congress was the only woman candidate contested in this election 26. Again the Indian National Congress captured power. In 1967, the fourth general election was held in which two seat constituencies were abolished. Congress faced a setback in this elections, however Indira Gandhi become the first women prime minister of the country 27. The number of seats in Kerala was increased from 18 to 19. A.N Beevi of Indian National Congress, A Thoyil of Kerala Congress contested from Manjeri and Muvattupuzha respectively. Suseela Gopalan of Communist party of India (Marxist) was elected from Ambalapuzha. 25 Statistical Report on General Elections,1957 to Second Lok Sabha, Vol-I, New Delhi, p Statistical Report on General Elections,1962 to Third Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, pp Statistical Report on General Elections,1967 to Fourth Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, pp

14 After five years tenure, the fifth general elections were held in seats were allocated for Kerala, of which 2 were reserved for scheduled castes. In Kerala, women out numbered men in number of electors as women comprised 51, 39,311 voters of 102, 17,893 total voters. Women also showed fare participation in casting their votes with 63.30%. 67 candidates were in the election fray of which only four were women 28. Leela Damodara Menon, Suseela Gopalan, Dakshayani Velayudhan, K Bhargavi Thankappan were the contestants. K Bhargavi Thankappan got elected from Adoor constituency. The general elections to the Sixth Lok Sabha were held in The state of internal emergency declared by the Congress government was the prime issue in the 1977 elections. Civil rights were suspended during the national emergency from 25 June 1975 to 21 March Elections were held to 542 seats representing all States and Union Territories. In Kerala the participation of women as contestants was disappointing but they showed an awesome participation as voters with per cent 29. Three women contested in this election, M.Kamalam of Indian National Congress become runner-up from Calicut constituency and the rest of two lost their deposit. The Congress lost the elections for the first time in 28 Statistical Report on General Elections,1971 to Fifth Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p Statistical Report on General Elections,1977 to Sixth Lok Sabha, Vol- I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p

15 independent India and Janata party assumed power under the leadership of Morarji Desai. He becomes the first non-congress Prime minister on March 24. Morarji Desai lost the trust vote in Parliament and resigned Charan Singh who had retained some partners from Janata alliance form the Government but soon resigned due to the lack of majority in the Parliament 30. This paved way for the seventh general elections to the Lok Sabha in In the seventh Lok Sabha election 77 women contested on National party banner and four on regional parties of which 27 and one got elected to the Parliament respectively. All the 61 independent women candidates lost their hope. In Kerala Suseela Gopalan of CPI (M) got elected from Alappuzha constituency and Omana Pillai of JNP become runner-up. None other women participated in this election 31. Mean while per cent of women cast their vote and showed their involvement in decision making process. Congress led by Indira Gandhi retained power by capturing 374 seats. The eighth general elections were held in 1984 soon after the assassination of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The elections were held in all states except Punjab and Assam due to unrest. The elections to the above States were held in The Congress got a 30 Statistical Report on General Elections,1977 to Sixth Lok Sabha, Vol- I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, pp Statistical Report on General Elections,1980 to Seventh Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p

16 trumping majority and Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister. There were 162 women contestant of which 42 were elected including 39 from national parties and three from state parties. All 94 independent candidates failed to enter into the Parliament 32. In Kerala for the 20 seats seven women candidates were in the field, none of them were elected. But women cast their votes higher than men with per cent, which it was fair participation compare to other states. After the full term of the previous government, general elections were held in 1984 for the ninth Lok Sabha. The result was setback to the Indian National Congress. A coalition government was formed under V P Singh with the help of Left parties and Bharatiya Janata Party. Mean while in the election 191 women contested, 29 got berth in the parliament including 26 from national parties and 3 from regional parties. In Kerala eight women contested and Savitri Lakshman of Indian National Congress contested from Mukundapuram got elected. Women counted more than men as voters with % of the total women voters cast their votes. Later V P Singh resigned and Chandra Shekhar becomes the prime minister with the support of Indian National Congress 33. But 32 Statistical Report on General Elections,1984 to Eighth Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p Statistical Report on General Elections,1989 to Ninth Lok Sabha, Vol- I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p

17 Congress withdrew its support which led to the general election of General elections were held in 1991 to elect members to the tenth Lok. Before the elections former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. The result of the election was that no party could get majority. So a coalition government was formed by Indian National Congress with the support of left parties ruled for the next five years under the Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. In the election 326 women contested and 37 got elected to the parliament including 35 from national parties and 2 from regional parties. All the 154 independent candidates lost their deposits 34. Voting of this election was the lowest ever in parliamentary elections with just 53 per cent of the electorate exercised their right to vote. But in Kerala women participated largely as per cent of the women voters cast their votes. Ten women contested of them Suseela Gopalan and Savitri Lekshmanan got elected to the lok Sabha from Chirayinkil and Mukundapuram Constituencies. The general elections in 1996 for the 11 th Lok Sabha resulted in a hung parliament as none got majority. These resulted three Prime Ministers in two years and force the country back to the polls in In Kerala women participation as voters remained around 70per cent of the total women voters. Still the overall participation of 34 Statistical Report on General Elections,1991 to Tenth Lok Sabha, Vol- I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p

18 women as voters remained per cent of the total women electorate.599 women contested in this election, only 40 got opportunities to get into the Lok Sabha 35. Even after fifty years of independence, disappointingly no woman was elected to the lok Sabha from Kerala. General elections were held in 1998 to convene 12 th Lok Sabha and formed government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But the government collapsed in late 1998 when some of the coalition parties withdrew their support, leading to another general election in The participation of women candidates declined from previous election of 599 to 274 and 43 got berth in the 12 th lok Sabha. A. K Premajam represented Vadakara was the only women from Kerala to the 12 th Lok Sabha. General elections of 1999 led to the formation of 13 th Lok Sabha. Bharatiya Janata Party led coalition government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was formed. In Kerala 13 women contested in this election and A.K.Premajam of CPI (M) from Vadakara was elected Statistical Report on General Elections,1996 to Eleventh Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, pp Statistical Report on General Elections,1998 to Twelfth Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p Statistical Report on General Elections,1999 to Thirteenth Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p

19 The general elections held in 2004 led to the formation of 14 th Lok Sabha. After 57 years of India s independence women gained mere 45 seats out of the total 545 seats. In Kerala per cent of women voters utilised their right to franchise. Only 15 women contestants were in the election arena, two got placement in the Parliament. D. Sathidevi and C.S.Sujatha, both from CPI(M) were elected from Vadakara and Mavelikara respectively 38. Even six decades after independence, the representation of women in the lok Sabha does not have an impressive graph. In the first Lok Sabha there were only 22 women which constitute 4.4 per cent of the house. It increased marginally over the years except in the sixth Lok Sabha when the House had only 19 women members. Prominent women Parliamentarians from Kerala Only an elite group of women got the opportunity to serve in Lok Sabha like Suseela Gopalan, Bhargavi Thankappan, Savitri Lekshmanan, A K Premajam, D Sathee Devi and C S Sujatha were the icons from Kerala. They participated in debates to protect the interest of Kerala. Women s reservation was also a major concern of the women parliamentarians. 38 Statistical Report on General Elections,2004 to Fourteenth Lok Sabha, Vol-I, Election Commission of India, New Delhi, p

20 Suseela Gopalan Suseela Gopalan was a seasoned politician of Kerala. She was a daughter of Velukutty Thandar, born on 29 th December Her husband K.Gopalan was a veteran communist leader. She was the member of the Tenth Kerala legislative assembly from Ambalapuzha Constituency and become the Minister of Industries and Social Welfare from to Before that she served in Lok Sabha for three terms. As the member of Lok Sabha she actively participated in debates on various issues related to women s development 39. She was the member of the joint Parliamentary committee on Amendment dowry prohibition Act ( ), Joined select committee on Amendment to the code of the criminal procedure ( ) 40. She also holds various positions like Vice President of CITU, President of the All India Democratic Women s Association, member of the Central Committee and Kerala State Secretariat of CPI (M). She expired on Bhargavi Thankappan Bhargavi Thankappan was one of the strong woman leaders of Kerala. She was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for five 39 Joginder Kumar Chopra, Women in the Indian Parliament: A critical study of their role, Mittal publications, New Delhi, p Abhilasha kumari,sabina Kidwai, Crossing the Sacred Line: Women's search for Political Power,Orient Longman Limited, New Delhi, 1998, pp

21 times. She was born on 24 July 1942.Shri K Eswaran and Smt K Kutty was her parents. After her early studies, she completed Degree and post graduate degree. During her studies, she was attracted by the communist principles and joined Communist party of India. She made her debut in the Fifth Kerala Legislative Assembly from Neduvathoor constituency. She was elected to the sixth, seventh, eighth Kerala Legislative assemblies from Kilimannoor Constituency. Bhargavi Thankappan acted as the pro-term Speaker of the eighth Assembly, later she become the Deputy Speaker of the Eighth Assembly from to She was also the member of the 10 th Kerala Assembly. She was the only women member from Kerala to the Fifth lok Sabha. She aroused many questions in lok Sabha and participated in many debates including budget debates. She also hold party positions like Secretary, CPI Legislative party; Member of the CPI State Council, CPI National Council. She holds the offices like member of Kerala University Senate, Vice President of the Kerala Karshaka Thozhilali Federation (Farmer s union), Join Secretary of the national Federation of Indian women, and General Secretary of the Kerala Mahila Sanghom. DR. 41 S.C.Bhatt, Gopal Bhargava(ed.), Land & People of Indian States & Union Territories, Kalpaz Publication, New Delhi, p

22 B.R. Ambedker Fellowship honored her for Social Cultural and literacy work. She was also the recipe of Sahodaran Smaraka State Award, and Sahrudayavedi Award. She has authored Danyubinte Teerangaliloode- a travelogue. She is the longest served women member in Kerala legislature next to Gouri Amma. She expired on Savitri Lakshman Prof. Savitri Lakshmanan is an active leader of Indian National Congress in Kerala. Born in a middle class family on 15th October in Ernakulum District She had his college education at Union Christian College and NSS Hindu College Changanacherry. She is married and had one son and one daughter. She was teacher and educationist by profession. After the 1991 general election, she becomes the member of the 10 th Lok Sabha from Mukundapuram Constituency. A. K Premajam Prof.A.K Premajam is an eminent Communist leader from Kerala. She was born to K Kunhiraman and A.T Yeshoda on 12 August 1938 in Kannur district. She earned higher education from Providence Women s College, Calicut, and Government Brennen College, Madras University and University College, Thiruvananthapuram. She worked in Collegiate Education service in Kerala for 33 years and Principal of Government Arts and Science 141

23 College Calicut during She was the Mayor of Calicut Corporation from 1995 to She was elected to the 12 th lok Sabha she hold many positions including Member of the Joint Committee, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, Member, Committee on Foods, Civil Supplies and Public Distribution; and its Sub-Committee B on Department of Sugar and Edible oils, Member of the Joint Committee on the Empowerment of Women and its Subcommittee on Appraisal of laws relating to Women- Criminal Laws, Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs. In 1999 she was re- elected to the 13 th Lok Sabha. During this term she was the member of the Committee on Urban and rural Development 43. She also worked on other capacities like member of the All India Democratic Women s Association. She raised many questions in the parliament particularly on women issues and actively participated in debates. On a debate in lok Sabha she pointed out If we take the total workforce in this country, women make up two-thirds of it. But how much do they earn? They actually 42 R.C Rajamani, Portraits of India s parliamentarians for the New Millennium: Lok Sabha, Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi, 2000, p Arun Kumar, Elections in India: Nehru to Vajpayee, Press Trust of India in Association with Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi, 2001, p

24 earn only one third of the total income and the property owned is only one-hundredth of the total property. This is the condition of the women in this country while discussion regarding passing of Women s Reservation Bill 2003(Not concluded), she moved resolution This House express its serious concern over the delay in passing the Constitution (Eighty-fifth Amendment) Bill, 1999 regarding reservation of seats for women in the house of the people and the legislative Assemblies of the states and urges upon the Government to take necessary action to get the Bill passed. she had participated more than hundred debates in the lok Sabha. Thus her voice in the parliament stood for the emancipation of women. D. Satheedevi P.Satheedevi, belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). She was born to Kunhiraman and Deviamma. She was an active member of Students federation of India during her college years at Government Brennen College, Thalassery. Later she completed her LLB from Government Law College, Calicut. She was elected to the 14 th Lok Sabha from Badakara Constituency 44. She involved in many debates in various sessions of the Lok Sabha. She 44 M.S.Rana, India Votes: Lok Sabha & Vidhan Sabha Elections , Sarup& Sons, New Delhi, p

25 served as the member of the Parliamentary committee on the Human Resource Development. In 1987 she become the Director of the Vadakara Co-operative Rural bank and served as a member of the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum during , member, Committee on Food Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. Drawing attention to the House she highlighted the issues occurring due to illegal recruitment of employees especially woman to the Gulf countries. She pointed out the issue there are reports that many of the women who were taken to work as housemaids to UAE were forced into immoral activities by the agents. It has also been reported that some women along with others from Tamil Nadu and northern States of the country are trapped with no passport or other travel documents. She also actively participated in budget debates and women s reservation issues. Her performance in the Lok Sabha accelerates the women empowerment to great extend. C.S.Sujatha C.S.Sujatha, young leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) becomes the member of the 14 th Lok Sabha from Mavelikara constituency. She was born on 28 th May 1965 to Ramachandran Nair and Sumathy Pillai in Alapuzha District. She had his higher education n from MSM college Kayamkulam and did 144

26 her LLB from Law Academy Law college Thiruvananthapuram. She served in various capacities including member of the Committee on labour, member of the Committee on empowerment of women 45. Earlier in she holds the office of the President, District Panchayat Alapuzha. Raising the issue of reservation for women in parliament in Lok Sabha, she stated all the political parties also promise to bring necessary legislation to this effect during every election time. But from the experience that we have gained in all these years we find that they take an elusive stand when it comes to implement the promise into practise. The Women s Reservation Bill that was promised is pending for over a decade now 46. She dragged many matters into the house and actively participated in 83 debates. As a Member of Parliament she tried hard for the women s reservation bill and various issues on Kerala. Women members in Rajya Sabha and their percentage ( ) 45 M.S.Rana, India Votes: Lok Sabha & Vidhan Sabha Elections , Sarup& sons, New Delhi, p Lok Sabha Debates (English Version), 14 th Lok Sabha, Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, 2005, p

27 Year Women members Percentage Source: Reports of Rajya Sabha Secretariat. In 1952, the number of women members was merely 15 constituting 6.94 per cent of the membership of the House. Over the 146

28 years, the percentage of women has increased and now, out of 242 members, 23 are women constituting 9.50 per cent of the House. In the Rajya Sabha, the representation of women has never crossed 12 per cent. Prominent Kerala Women Members in Rajya Sabha Only an elite group of women got the opportunity to serve in Rajya Sabha. In the sixty year history of Rajya Sabha, only four have enjoyed this privilege. The records of Rajya Sabha debates proved that women from Kerala actively participated in discussions. Their involvement spread in various standing committees and ad hoc committees. Devaki Gopidas Devaki Gopidas 47 was a prominent congress leader. She was born in 1918 in Kottayam and had her early education from St. Ann s Girl s high School Kottayam. She grew up in a period when women faced all type of taboos. She completed her B.L Degree and practiced in various courts 48. She was elected to the member of Rajya Sabha in and holds the office till her tenure and actively participated in most debates and dragged the attention of the House about the fall of prises of natural Rubber and asked for supporting 47 Parliamentary debates: Official report, Volume 51, Issues 20-29, Council of States Secretariat, 1965, p Parliament of India: Rajya Sabha Who s Who, 1966, Rajya Sabha Secretariat New Delhi, p

29 price for paddy and copra. 49 She represents the visions aspiration of her party and women community. Bharathi K Udayabhanu Bharathi K Udayabhanu was one of the early Congress leaders from Kerala. She was born to Kochupillai Panikkar on After her graduation she joined National movement. She got married to A.P Udayabhanu, freedom fighter and reputed writer in Kerala. She was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1954, when the total number of women in the House was just 17. In 1958 she was re-elected to Rajya Sabha and retain in office till her retirement in She authored from kitchen to Parliament in Malayalam for which she was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award in Apart from the above members Leela Damodara Menon 50 was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1974, and Captain N Lakshmi Menon, from Kerala was elected to Rajya Sabha from Bihar State for three times from Women in Ministries 49 Parliamentary debates: Official report, Volume 59, Issues 10-17, Council of States Secretariat, 1967, p See details about Leela Damodara Menon in chapter Women s Participation in Kerala Legislative Assembly. 148

30 Only 14 percent of the ministers and just 6 per cent of the world s Heads of government are women 51. In India also, the position of women was only nominal.the portfolios held by women ministers in the central Council of ministers were not very important excluding Indira Gandhi and Nandini Satpathy who were in the core portfolios. Till 1956, the health portfolio had always been given to the sole women Cabinet ministers. In 1957 External and Home affairs were assigned to two deputy ministers 52. In 1958, External affairs and 1959 Finance portfolios were given to women ministers with no independent charge. In 1964 Information and Broadcasting and Social security portfolios were assigned. During the Prime ministership of Indira Gandhi she had the portfolios of Atomic energy, External affairs, planning etc. she deputed women ministers for Law and Civil aviation. In 1961 there were three female ministers. From 1962 to 1969 there were five women ministers and from 1970, it decreased to four and in 1973 only three were included. The number cause to two in 1977 and remains as such in In 1983, there were five and 1984 there were four women ministers. The BJP led government gave some important positions for women in the ministry including cabinet rank to Sushma Swaraj and Uma Bharathi 53. Menaka Gandhi and Vasundhara Raje were also there in the ministry. Women and Political Parties 51 The state of the World s Children 2007: Executive Summary Report, UNICEF, p A.Kumar. (ed.) Indian Women in Politics, Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd, Lucknow, 2006, p Ibid, p

31 A political party is an authentic institutional voice in a democracy. Political parties in India are allowed to take part in all local bodies except the village Panchayats in India. The backing of a political party for the success of a candidate in election is also imperative. This trend was evident when contestants fielded by political parties won in large number in comparison to independent candidates. (Table I) Table I: Women Candidates from National Parties General Elections Total No. of women contestants Women contestants from Political Parties No. of women elected No of women elected from political parties. Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth 314 N.A 44 N.A Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Source: Reports of Election Commission of India. Move for Reservation for Women in Parliament 150

32 Reservation is a basic and consistent step by the government which insist to commit Equal access to participation and decision making of women in the social, political and economic life of the nation 54 The campaign for women s reservation in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha had been now going on for the last one decade. This initiative was to establish political equality which is guaranteed in our Constitution. The campaign that has been carried on by the National Commission for Women has created public interest from grassroot onwards, in asserting rights of women. The campaign without question signifies the social and political space created by women s movement and the National Commission for Women in India for building up an effective initiative for the rights of women. In 1996, after painstaking struggle by the women s groups with the backup of some political parties, the bill for women s reservation was introduced in Parliament as, the Constitutional (Eighty-first Amendment) Bill, The bill had some significant features including 1. One-third of the total number of seats filled by direct elections in the house of the people (Lok Sabha) and in Legislative Assemblies of the State shall be reserved for women. 2. One-third of seats shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled tribe from amongst the seats 54 National policy for the Empowerment of Women-2001, Government of India,

33 reserved for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes under clause (1) of the article 330 and clause (1) of the article 332 of the constitution. 3. The Seats were to be reserved for women by rotation in the manner laid down by the parliament. 4. No time limit up to which reservation of women was to continue. The bill had no provision for reservation of seats for women in the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council of the States. No reservation of seats in Lok Sabha for women from a state having less than three seats in Lok Sabha. And if the number of seats reserved for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes was less than three in any State, no reservation for women belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes was provided for in the State. After intense debates and dissenting opinions, the Bill was referred to a Joint Committee of the Parliament consisting of 31 members from both Houses of Parliament. The committee under Smt. Geetha Mukherjee submitted its report with some change including the words not less than one-third occurring in the bill should be replaced with as nearly as may be, one-third. The Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment) Bill was lapsed with the dissolution of the Eleventh Lok Sabha. There after similar Bill, named the Constitution (Eightyfourth Amendment) Bill, 1998 was introduced on 14 th December The said Bill also lapsed on the dissolution of the Twelfth Lok Sabha. On December 23, 1999 another attempt was made by 152

34 introducing the Constitutional (Eighty-fifth Amendment) Bill. But this time also, the bill could not be preceded due to the lack of unanimity amongst the political parties 55. The bill is yet to take the shape of an Act 56. Position of Women in world Parliaments Globally women make up 18.6 per cent of parliamentarians. In the two decades between 1975 and 1995, women representation rose by less than one per cent 57. By the mid of 2007 only twenty eight countries could claim that women s Parliamentary representation had reached a critical mass of 30 per cent or more 58. Most of the neighbouring countries of India have initiated some form of measures to improve the numerical strength of women in their parliaments. In the year 2004 Bangladesh passed 14 th Constitutional Amendment, 15 per cent of seats were reserved for women. Until 2004 Bangladesh Parliament had only two per cent women Parliamentarians 59. In 2002 Pakistan reserved 60 out of 342 seats 55 Reservation of Seats for Women in Legislative Bodies: Perspectives, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, July 2008, p M.S Rana, op.cit, p John Olsson, Thematic Paper on MDG3 Promote gender Equality and Empower Women, U.N.D.P, p U N Women, Annual Report , p U N Women, Annual Report , p

35 for women in the national assembly and 17 out of 100 seats in the Senate. In 1990, before implementing reservation women constituted mere two per cent f the national assembly and this went up to 20.8 per cent in Besides these Pakistan also reserved 33 per cent for women in local self government 60. The very positive result that some of the World s poorest countries have had an increasing women s seats in Parliaments. Rwanda for instance, was the first country in the world to elect more women Parliamentarians than men in 2008 and now has highest number of female Parliamentarians in the World at 56.3 per cent. Sweden is second at 47 per cent followed by South Africa at 44.5 per cent and Cuba at 43.2 per cent 61. South Africa, the developing country have met the targets for gender equality in education, employment in industry and service and target for share of political representatives (current target 30 per cent seats for women in Parliament) 62. South Africa has 44.5 % women representatives in Lower house and 29.6 % women in upper house. It is to be point out that India has not introduced reservation yet. While, most other countries which have fair representation of women follow some affirmative measures like reservation. The 60 Ibid, p John Olsson, op.cit, p Progress of the World s Women 2000, United Nations Development for Women, Biennial Report, p

36 position of women in Indian Parliament showed gradual growth from the beginning. There were 22 women in the First Lok Sabha which rose to 51 in the Fourteenth Lok Sabha. It is interesting women gained progress without any special initiatives. While selecting candidates, the political parties found it difficult to drop out the previous successful candidates mostly men, which give adverse result to women during selection process. Despite this adverse situation many women from Kerala successfully participated and elected to the Lok Sabha. Number of women from Kerala to the Rajya Sabha is very low. But women leaders like Leela Damodara Menon, Devaki Gopidas, and Bharathi K Udayabhanu protected the women interest in Rajya Sabha. 155

37 WOMEN IN KERALA LEGISLATURE The conventional attitude of the society limited the role of women in public affairs. The male chauvinism in the society made women in an isolated area that is their houses. The male superiority in Party ranks and leadership, the challenges of leadership recruitment in party politics has no doubt discouraged the scope of generating a galaxy of women political leaders. The average percentage of elected women in state assemblies is 6.94 per cent, the highest being per cent in Haryana and the lowest being 1.34 percent in Karnataka. However States like Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Union Territory of Pondicherry have no representation of women in their Assemblies 1. In Kerala the role of women in legislature and political movement had also been less compared to men. Kerala Legislative Assembly Kerala follows a Unicameral Legislative system, i.e., there is only one house for state legislature namely the Legislative Assembly. 1 Reservation of Seats for Women in Legislative bodies: Perspectives, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, July 2008, p

38 The total number of members in the Kerala legislative assembly is fixed as 141. Of this, 140 are elected directly by the people on the basis of adult suffrage and one member is nominated from the Latin Community, which falls under minority category. The members of the legislative assembly elect one of the members as its Speaker and Deputy Speaker. The Speaker presides over the meetings of the House and conducts the business of the government. The Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the speaker in the absence of Speaker. Party System In India, coalition politics came rather late, mainly because the Indian National Congress remained to rule India s central government for three decades after independence. In Kerala, however, soon after its formation in 1956, Congress lost to the Communist Party of India. At the political level, Kerala has health tradition of bipolar coalition politics in the backdrop of a multiparty system. From the political part, Kerala hosts two major political alliances: the United Democratic Front (UDF led by the Indian National Congress) and Left Democratic Front (LDF led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M)). Communist Party of India, BJP also have significant influence in the state politics. The State parties like the Indian Union Muslim League, the Kerala 157

39 Congress (M), the Kerala Congress (J), and the Kerala Congress (B), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) are active in Kerala politics. First general election to the Kerala State legislature-1957 The First general election to the Kerala State legislature was held in February and March The Communist party of India and a few Independents supported by it secured 65 of the 114 seats in the legislature. President s rule was lifted on April 5, 1957 and a Communist Ministry under the Chief Ministership of E.M.S.Namboothiripad came to power 2. Elections were held for one hundred and fourteen seats of which one hundred and two seats in were general category rest of the seats were reserved to scheduled caste. Four hundred and six candidates contested in this election, of which women candidates were only nine. The communist party of India gave three seats for women while six candidates contested on Indian National Congress ticket 3 Out of one hundred and fourteen seats in the legislative Assembly, only six members were women. Sarojini, Saraswati Amma and Nafeesa Beevi, all of them unsuccessfully contested in the election on Indian National Congress ticket. List of Women Candidates won in the First General Elections 2 A.Sreedhara Menon, op.cit, p Statistical Report on the General Elections, 1957 to the Legislative Assembly of Kerala, pp