Patterns of women's political participation in India

Abstract

In Indian political culture, women have mostly been considered subordinate political actors. In 1987, Gail Omvedt wrote ‘the exclusion of women from political power has been marked more than their exclusion from “productive” work or even property rights’ (Economic & Political Weekly, 2019). For a very long time, from local politics to national politics, women’s political participation had remained restricted with regard to their role as voters and as elected representatives, though there have been some changes in this regard in the recent past. Recent elections have witnessed increased electoral participation of women voters. One of the main reasons offered for the limited participation of women in Indian politics is their inability to make independent political decisions. They are perceived as being dependent on the male members of their family in this regard. This chapter raises some questions regarding this pattern and tries to offer possible explanations to those questions.