- India should have an Election Commission-led effortto push for reservation for women in political parties.
- Reservation for women in political parties– a more viable option.
- Quotas for women in Parliament as envisaged in the Women’s Reservation Bill.
- Awareness, education and role modellingthat encourage women towards politics and wipe out Gender stereotypes which perceive women as weak representatives.
- Inclusive economic institutions and growth—both necessary for and dependent on social empowerment—require inclusive political institutions.
- Women’s leadership and communication skillsneed to be enhanced by increasing female literacy especially in rural areas. They should be empowered in order to break socio-cultural barriers and improve their status in the society.
- India is yet to pass a bill introducing 33% reservation in Parliament for women. This experiment at the local level (PRI’s and ULB’s) has been very successful.
- Political mentoring andskill training can enhance their political knowledge; thereby becoming potential candidates who will steer the nation towards development.
B.R. Ambedkar once said that “political power is the key to all social progress”. Ensuring proportional representation to women in parliament is seen by policy makers as a panacea to the issues surrounding women empowerment. Recognizing the significance of roles of women in decision making process in the society is critical to strengthen women’s agencies for building a progressive society with equality of opportunities among all citizens. Male politicians must take a lead role in challenging traditions which foster inequality and also unequivocally condemn the misogynistic language that their counterparts use when it comes to women.
SDG goal 5 has a target – ‘’ Ensure women’s full and active participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic, and public life’’. It needs to be achieved with the collective efforts of the international community (SDG goal 17- Partnership for the goals). There is no one-size-fits-all solution to ensure gender equality in politics. But there is plenty that can and should be done to ensure that women’s voices are heard.
