Political Participation of Women in North-East India with Special Reference to Assam after Independence

Transcription

1 Political Participation of Women in North-East India with Special Reference to Assam after Independence Parismita Borah Lecturer, College of Education, Nagaon, Assam, India. ABSTRACT : Women s equal participation in political activities plays a pivotal role in the development of the country s political system. In the political participation of the country women are still behind. The status of women in terms of political participation is very low in India. The Indian Constitution gives equal political rights to both men and women, but the representation of women in Parliament and State Legislatures is very less. Assam is one of the states of North Eastern part of India. In the context of Assam, despite having a glorious history of the women of Assam, they could not occupy good position in decision making process and leading role in party politics of the state. The present paper tries to analyze the participation of women from Assam in the Lok Sabha Elections and State Legislative Elections in compare to male participation. Keywords: Gender gap, Political participation, Women I. Introduction: Democracy becomes successful only with the political participation of people both men and women. Women s equal participation in political activities plays a major role in the development of the country s political system. Political participation is not just casting of vote, it also means some other activities like contesting elections, membership of political party and representative bodies, electoral campaigning, attending party meeting, demonstration, communication with leaders, holding party position, participation in decision making and policy making and other related activities. Women who consist of almost half of the total population of the country still they remain away from the policy making and decision making process of the country. The status of women in terms of political participation is very low in India. The Indian Constitution gives equal political rights to both men and women, but the representation of women in Parliament and State Legislatures is very less. They are marginalized in political participation. Assam is one of the states of North Eastern part of India. In the context of Assam, despite having a glorious history of the women of Assam, they could not occupy good position in decision making process and leading role in party politics of the state. Their participation in the Lok Sabha and Assam Legislative Elections is not satisfactory in compare to male political participation. Page 123

2 II. Rational of the Study : Gender inequality exists in North East India in terms of access to education, employment and health and political participation both at the level of state and nation [1]. The status of women is very low in terms of political participation such as receiving tickets from political parties, receiving political patronage, contesting elections, receiving ministerial berth and decision making power used in the state of Assam legislative assembly [2]. Women participation in local level politics brings viewpoints which are essential for a holistic development of the society [3]. Education helps in generating awareness among women about their legal, social, political and economic rights, provisions and privileges to fight against all sorts of social discrimination (Bhat; Khurshid; Hussain; 2011). Women s participation in mainstream political activities makes the system more democratic and has broadened the arena of governance in the country [4]. Political representation is an important socio-economic indicator to measure the condition of a community within a society. Political participation is another indicator of a community s empowerment [5]. Women s political empowerment is premised on three fundamental and non-negotiable principles: (a) the equality between women and men; (b) Women s right to the full development of their potentials; and (c) women s right to self-representation and selfdetermination [6]. The lack of political voice and poor representation of women in Parliament is a result of exclusions on gender basis [7] The participation of women and their engagement in electoral process is an important marker of the maturity and efficacy of democracy in any country [8]. III. Statement of the Problem: In view of the above, the statement of the problem of the study can be stated as under- Political participation of Women in North-East India with special reference to Assam after Independence. IV. Objectives of the Study: The main objective of the paper is to show about the participation of women from Assam in the Lok Sabha and in the State Legislative Assembly Elections after independence in compare to male participation. V. Methodology: The study follows descriptive method. In this study the data have been collected by using secondary source. The present study is delimited only to Assam state of North East region and also to secondary data, collected through internet, books and Election Commission reports. VI. Result and Discussion: In this study collected secondary data are analysed by descriptive method by using tables and bar diagrams. In the data are analysed in relation to the objective of the paper as under: Page 124

3 Table: 1.1 :Participation of women in Assam Assembly Elections from 1952 to 2011 Year of Election Total no. of Contestant Male contestant Female Contestant Total Elected Men Total Elected Women % of women Representation Sources: Reports of Election Commission of India. Figure -1.1 The above table and figure show about the participation of women in Assam Legislative Assembly Elections in Assam from 1952 to 2011 in compare to male political participation. In 1952 election, out of total 458 contestants, 449 were male and among 6 women contestants Page 125

4 only 2 (1.90%) women were elected. In 1957 election, out of 312 contestants, 304 were male and among 6 women 5 (4.68%) were elected. In 1962 election, out of total contestants 409, 405 were male and among 4 women contestants all 4 (3.81%) were elected. In 1967 election, out of 492 contestants 486 were male and among 6 women only 4 (3.17%) were elected. In 1972 election, out of 522 contestants, 510 were male and among 12 women no one was elected. In 1978 election, out of 938 contestants, 916 were male and among 22 women contestants only 1 (0.79%) was elected. In 1985 election, out of 1133 contestants, 1124 were male and among 29 women only 5 (3.96%) were elected. In 1991 election, out of 1657contestants, 1607 were male and among 50 women only 5 (3.97%) were elected. In 1996 election, out of 1228 contestants, 1183 were male and among 45 women only 6 (4.76%) were elected. In 2001 election, out of 916 contestants, 861 were male and among 55 women only 10 (7.94%) were elected. In 2006 election, out of 997 contestants, 927 were male and among 70 women only 14 (10.32%) were elected. In 2011 election, out of 981 contestants, 896 were male and among 85 women only 14 (11.11%) were elected. So from the table and figure it has been shown that the political participation of women in the Assam Assembly elections is not satisfactory. Though the number of women as contestants has been increased but it is very low in compare to male participants. Table: 1.2 : Participation of women in Lok Sabha Elections from 1952 to 2014 Year of Elections Female Contestants Total Elected Male Total Elected Female % of women Participation Sources: Reports of Election Commission of India Page 126

5 Figure-1.2 The above table and figure show about the participation of women from Assam in the Lok Sabha elections from Assam has now 14 seats in Lok Sabha. In 1952 election, 10 male were elected and among 2 female contestants only 1 (9.09%) was elected. In 1957 election, 12 male were elected and among 2 female contestants no one was elected. In 1962 election, 10 male were elected and among 3 female contestants 2 (16.29%) were elected. In 1967 election, 13 male were elected and among 2 female contestants only 1 (7.14%) was elected. In 1971 election, 13 male were elected and among 3 female contestants 1 (7.14%) was elected. In 1977 election, 12 male were elected and among 3 female contestants 2 were elected. In 1980 election, 14 male were elected and among 2 female contestants no one was elected. In 1991 election, 14 male were elected and among 7 female contestants no one was elected. In 1996 election, 13 male were elected and among 9 female contestants 1 (7.14%) was elected. In 1999 election, 12 male were elected and among 9 female contestants 2 (14.29%) were elected. In 2004 election, 14 male were elected and among 4 female contestants no one was elected. In 2009 election, 12 male were elected and among 11female contestants 2 (14.29%) were elected. In 2014 election, 12 male were elected and among 9 female contestants 2 (14.29%) were elected. So from the table and figure it has been shown that the political participation of women in Lok Sabha elections from Assam is not satisfactory. Though the number of women as contestants has been increased but the number of elected female in compare to elected male is very low. VII. Major findings of the Study: The major findings of the study are as follow; [1] In all Assam Assembly Elections held after independence from , it has been seen that number of female contestants is very lower in compare to male contestants. [2] In all Assam Assembly Elections from , there is a wide gap between the number of elected male and elected female. Page 127

6 [3] The percentage (%) of women representation has been increased in all assembly elections from In 1952 it was 1.90% and in 2011 it was 11.11%. [4] In all Lok Sabha Elections from the number of elected female is lower in compare to elected male. [5] There is no a big difference in increasing the percentage (%) of women participation from Suggestions: 1. Illiteracy limits the ability of women to understand the political system, issues and political rights. So, importance should be given to the education of women. 2. Women's organizations should come forward to support the women candidate for their nomination and election. It results in increased women's representation within legislative bodies. 3. Reservation policy for women in the Assembly and in the parliament will provide at least a greater opportunity for women to come into mainstream of politics. 4. Women should be promoted and encouraged by the concerted effort of government in partnership with civil society for enhanced and quality participation in formal politics. 5. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should also try to empower women by focusing on issues of education, violence, and leadership of women. 6. All national and state level political parties should give chances to women for participating in electoral politics. 7. Women should also be made confident and conscious for their own political rights. VII. Conclusion: From the facts stated above it can be concluded that though the participation of women in politics is, however, slightly increasing, but it is not to the level of satisfaction. There are so many challenges in the way of political participation of women. Not only the governments but each member of the society should come forward to remove the gender gap in politics. An increased political participation by women in all spheres of political life and electoral competition in particular will not only ensure political parity and equality with men, but also bring gender issues to the forefront leading to the larger issues concerning women, i.e, upliftment and empowerment of Indian women.. References : [1] Dutta, N. & Jha, S. (2014). Women s Human Rights; Pacific Books International, New Delhi. [2] Dutta, N. & Jha, S. (2014). Women and Gender Inequality; Pacific Books International, New Delhi. [3] Dutta, N. & Jha, S. (2014). Women: Social Work and Social Welfare, Pacific Books International, New Delhi. Page 128

7 [4] Kaushik, A. (2013). Development, Globalization and Women; Rawat Publications, Jaipur. [5] Kumar, R., Ram, S. (2013). Status of Women in North East India, Arpan Publications, New Delhi. [6] Rao, V.V. & Hazarica, N. (1983). A Century of Government and Politics in North-East India, S. Chand & Company, New Delhi, [7] Mamta, N. (2013). Women s marginal role in politics with special reference to Assam, Global Research Methodology Journal, V0l-II, 8th issue, Feb-Mar-Apr, ISSN X. [8] Purusottam, N., Bidisha, M. (2009). Women Empowerment in Assam, Journal of Economics and Commerce, 6(6): 61-74, January 9, 2009, PCC. [9] Assam Assembly Election Results in , [10] Page 129