MADHU AGRAWAL
It refers to The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012 where it is revealed that India is amongst those backward-most countries where women-participation in legislature is placed at poor 98th position in the world with just about 10.96 percent women representing in legislature in our male-dominated system. It is significant that in last two decades, many countries refined their election-rules to ensure effective participation of women in legislature improved overall global participation of women in legislature to 19.7 percent while this percent was 27.4 percent in countries with special women-quota under election rules.
Till Women Reservation in India becomes a dream-come-true, Election Commission’s formula to make it compulsory for every political party to give at least 33-percent party-tickets to women may be immediately enforced as an interim measure. However it should be ensured that such distribution may be state-wise rather than on country-basis. Otherwise parties will fulfil formality of women-quota by giving all tickets from reserved quota to women in states with no base of the concerned party. However to prevent wives or other relations/associates being misused as ‘proxy’ of male politicians, there should be a system whereby name of husband or any other relation may not be permitted in election-campaigns of women candidates.
At a time when women-quota in panchayats and local bodies is being increased to 50-percent from earlier 33-percent, it is meaningless to resist 33-percent reservation to women in legislature. Rather there should be uniform 33-perecent reservation for women at all stages from civic bodies to Parliament.
