The empowerment of women is set to strengthen our democracy
- The participation of women in electoral exercises has risen impressively and could outstrip that of men within this decade.
Women represent half the world’s population and are still largely excluded from political decision making. In India’s Lok Sabha elections, the number of women contestants seats increased from 3% of all parliamentary candidates in 1957 to 6% in 2009 and further to 9% in 2019, the last such polls held. The representation of women in the Lok Sabha, meanwhile, has increased from 4.5% in 1957 to 10.9% in 2009 and further to 14.4% in 2019. The numbers make it clear that political representation in the country is dominated by men. It will take a lot more effort to increase the participation of women, which is a very important aspect of women’s empowerment in general.
Let us examine the progress made so far. The rising participation of women in India’s political arena is one of the most significant stories of the past 10 years. It took us 52 years for a 3 percentage point increase in women contestants in Lok Sabha elections, but another 3 percentage points was achieved over the span of just a decade from the 2009 polls to the 2019 elections, with ballots cast for the Lower House of Parliament in 2014 as well. Coupled with this, women voters are now playing a significantly bigger role in elections than ever before. There has been a rise in women’s voter turnout, a phenomenon that is even more pronounced in state assembly elections. Records indicate that out of the 23 major states where assembly elections were held in last five years (including those recently concluded), the turnout of women at ballot booths was higher than that of men in as many as 18 states. Of these 18 states, interestingly, the incumbent government was re-elected in 10.
Further, it was observed by comparing Indian census and Election Commission (EC) data that there might have been 12.4 million ‘missing women’ in the electorate (women who are eligible to vote, i.e., but not registered as voters) at the time of India’s 2014 Lok Sabha elections in 10 states. This alarming scenario has now been significantly addressed with the positive efforts of the Central government and EC, and this will pay dividends in the coming decades.
This resurgence of stakes being claimed by women in politics across the country has been anchored by duly bold and pragmatic policy measures. Electoral patterns could be showing the effects of women increasingly finding themselves the direct beneficiaries of public policy schemes. The share of women claimants of benefits has been increasing across government sponsored programmes. The share of women stands at 81% in Stand-Up India, a loan scheme; 68% in PM Mudra loans aimed at small enterprises; 37% in the PM Suraksha Bima Yojana, which provides low-cost accident insurance cover; and 27% in the PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, which offers affordable life insurance. The contribution of unpaid women to the Indian economy is placed at around ₹22.7 trillion (rural ₹14.7 trillion and urban ₹8 trillion), which is almost 7.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Recent state elections saw women-centric schemes such as Ladli Behna ensure greater female electoral participation. This scheme is aimed at a transformational improvement in the health and nutritional status of women and the children dependent on them. It nudges women to become financially more independent and acquire spending freedom in tune with their priorities. On the basis of our research, around 94% of the women covered by Ladli Behna are aged 25 and above. Also, at least 1% of the beneficiaries spend the money in other states, implying that this scheme transcends state boundaries. The programme is estimated to have augmented the consumption expenditure of women covered by the PM Jan Dhan Yojana by an average of at least ₹9,000 across all consumeristic categories.
Women’s participation in electoral democracy still has space to increase, though. Consider the 2014 general elections. In those Lok Sabha polls, the voter turnout increased by a whopping 137 million to 550 million, of whom 260 million were women. The number was 5.5 times the average voter turnout recorded by the country between 1962 and 2009. Population increases account for a part of that increase. In terms of gender, though, it was 5.8 times for women and 5.2 times for men. In 2019, the voter turnout further increased to 620 million, with 300 million of them women. Based on the same trend of voting, in 2024, the total voter turnout in Lok Sabha elections could touch 680 million, of whom women voters could be about 330 million, or roughly 49%. In 2029, total voter turnout at the current rate of polling change could touch 730 million, of which women voters at 370 million could possibly outstrip men voters at 360 million (more than half) for the first time in Indian electoral history.
While electoral trends can be influenced by many factors, an extrapolation can be useful from a gender-split perspective. When India marks a century of independence in 2047 (although the probable election year would be 2049), our total voter turnout could be around 920 million: 496 million women and 423 million men. It is also projected that in 2047, the women’s voter turnout would increase to 55%, while men’s might fall to 45%.
All of this suggests that India is on the cusp of a new era of women’s empowerment—political, economic and social.
These are the authors’ personal views.
