Indian Women Fight For Their Voice in Parliament - Building Gender Balanced Business

“The bill will change the culture of the country, because women today are still caught in a cultural prison. We have to fight stereotypes every day.” — Brinda Karat, Communist Party of India member and women’s rights activist

INDIAN WOMEN UNDER-REPRESENTED

• The 1st Indian Parliament had approximately 4.4% women in the lower house
• Today, the 15th Parliament has only increased its female representation in the lower house to 10.8%
• The Inter-Parliamentary Union reports that the worldwide average of women reps in national parliaments is 19.3%

Battles over the bill continue to delay its passage. It must be ratified by the lower house and then get approval from at least half of India’s state legislatures and the president before it can take effect.

“The most strident opposition to women’s quotas has come from male politicians who fear that their political careers would be put at risk.” — Zoya Hasan, political science professor

Opponents of the bill say they fear quotas will only help “elite” women, at the expense of lower castes and the Muslim minority.

But supporters of the bill insist that the true concern of its opponents is job security: 180 men in the lower house would have to vacate their seats to meet the quota.