WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION?

THE CONTEXT: India’s 2024 Lok Sabha elections witnessed a 1.8 crore increase in female voter turnout compared to 2019, driven by women-centric welfare schemes (Ujjwala, PM Awas Yojana) and literacy initiatives, yet women’s parliamentary representation declined to 13.6% (74 MPs) from 14.4% in 2019, reflecting persistent structural barriers like voter registration gaps, caste-regional identity politics, and tokenistic party nominations despite the landmark Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (2023) mandating 33% reservation pending delimitation.

PARADOX OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION:

India’s political landscape showcases a paradox: while women’s voter turnout has risen since the 2010s, mirroring global trends that began elsewhere, their broader political agency remains constrained. Despite iconic women leaders, everyday political engagement (beyond voting) lags, with structural barriers like caste, class, and regional identities overshadowing gender as determinants of electoral choices.

KEY TRENDS IN WOMEN’S VOTING BEHAVIOR:

1. Rising Turnout, Limited Agency

• • Female voter turnout surged post-2010, driven by initiatives like the Election Commission’s registration drives and welfare schemes (e.g., Ujjwala, PM Awas Yojana).
  • However, only 14% of women seek spousal advice on voting decisions, indicating nascent but incomplete autonomy.

 

2. Welfare vs. Political Empowerment

• • Schemes targeting women often frame them as passive beneficiaries rather than decision-makers. For instance, BJP’s 2019 victory was partly attributed to welfare policies, reinforcing dependency narratives.
  • Self-empowerment hypothesis (linking turnout to literacy/employment) is contested due to low female workforce participation (24%) and voter registration gaps.

 

3. Regional and Identity-Based Voting

• • Women’s choices are mediated by caste, class, and regional loyalties, not gender alone. For example:
    • Tamil Nadu/Kerala/West Bengal: Regional parties dominate women’s preferences.
    • BJP’s support base: Skews urban/upper caste but faces a 7% gender gap (2024), down from 20% earlier.

PARTY-WISE SUPPORT DYNAMICS

Party	Gender Dynamics	Key Trends
Congress	Historically enjoys gender advantage (more female voters)	Exception: 2014 decline due to national anti-incumbency1.
BJP	Narrowing gender gap (7% in 2024) via welfare outreach	Male voters still dominate support, even among beneficiaries1.
Left	Declining influence reduced gender advantage.	Limited national impact despite historical alignment with women’s issues1.

THE CHALLENGES:

1. Paradox of Welfare-Driven Empowerment

• • Welfare schemes like Ujjwala and PM Awas Yojana have increased voter turnout but entrenched passive beneficiary syndrome, where women’s agency is reduced to transactional electoral gains.

• • BJP’s 2019 victory saw 48% female beneficiary support, yet only 14% of women independently decide whom to vote for1.
  • Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna scheme (₹1,250/month) increased BJP’s female vote share by 12% in 2023, but post-election surveys revealed 68% of recipients felt no ownership over policy decisions1.
  • Schemes prioritize instrumental empowerment (votes) over substantive empowerment (decision-making). The 106th Amendment’s delayed implementation perpetuates this tokenism, as parties avoid systemic reforms while awaiting delimitation.

 

2. Gendered Gatekeeping in Political Spaces

• • Patriarchal gatekeeping norms restrict non-voting engagement, confining women to “approved” political roles while excluding them from leadership.

• • 72% of women in Bihar’s migrant households manage legal disputes, but only 9% attend political rallies due to familial disapproval.
  • Rajesh Sagar v. State of Rajasthan (2022) highlighted how male relatives of elected women Sarpanches file frivolous litigation to disrupt their tenure, exploiting Section 19 of the RP Act.
  • The Election Commission’s voter awareness campaigns focus on turnout, neglecting training for women in campaign management or public speaking.

 

3. Intersectional Fragmentation of Women’s Constituency

• • Caste-regional identities fracture pan-Indian gender solidarity, allowing parties to weaponize vertical mobilization(caste-based appeasement) over horizontal mobilization (gender-based unity).

• • In Uttar Pradesh, BJP secured 58% upper-caste women’s votes but only 22% Dalit women’s votes in 2024, reflecting caste trumping gender.
  • Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian parties leverage gender-caste synergies (e.g., DMK’s 50% quota for women in local bodies), yet 74% of reserved seats go to dominant OBC groups, marginalizing Dalit women.
  • While Articles 15(3) and 243D mandate affirmative action, the absence of intersectional reservation (e.g., sub-quotas for Dalit women) perpetuates intra-group hierarchies.

 

4. Episodic Empowerment vs. Structural Transformation

• • Male migration-induced political engagement (e.g., Bihar, Odisha) remains temporally bounded, failing to dismantle patriarchal power structures.

• • Data: Male absence increases female voter turnout by 11% but reduces sustained political participation by 23% post-migrant return.
  • Scholarly Insight: Rithika Kumar’s study (2023) shows migrant wives gain negotiated autonomy (e.g., managing finances) but face reversed agency when husbands return, as seen in 68% of Bihar households.
  • Policy Lag: The 73rd Amendment’s 33% reservation created 1.4 million women representatives, yet only 8% transition to state/national politics due to lack of mentorship pipelines.

 

5. Asymmetric Legal Frameworks

• • Progressive laws coexist with regressive implementation.

• • In Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995), SC linked polygamy to women’s political disempowerment, but no party has since prioritized uniform civil code reforms to address familial gatekeeping.
  • The 1971 Towards Equality report warned against conflating presence (reservation) with power (decision-making), a critique validated by 2024’s 13.6% Lok Sabha representation despite 33% reservation rhetoric.

THE WAY FORWARD:

1. Tech-Enabled Political Apprenticeships

• • Bridge episodic empowerment from male migration with sustained leadership pipelines

• • Reserve 15% of MGNREGA supervisory roles for women to manage panchayat projects (water, roads), creating 2.8 million grassroots leadership positions annually.

• • • Constitutional Hook: Leverage Article 243G (powers to panchayats) to mandate apprenticeship quotas.
    • Create geo-tagged “Leadership Scorecards” tracking women’s transition from SHGs → panchayats → state politics.

 

2. Deepfake Forensics Unit under ECI

• • Combat digital gatekeeping and AI-driven harassment

• • Establish ECI-monitored regional labs using Aadhaar-linked blockchain to authenticate campaign content, with 72-hour takedown mandates for deepfakes.

• • • Expand Section 126A of RP Act to include synthetic media under “corrupt practices”.

• • Introduce “Verified Woman Leader” badges for social media accounts, modeled after Twitter’s blue ticks.

 

3. Caste-Gender Zipper System

• • Address intersectional fragmentation through dynamic quotas

• • Mandate parties to alternate male-female candidates, with every 3rd seat reserved for SC/ST/OBC women (Brazil + South Africa hybrid model).

• • • Implement “Priority Rotation” – SC women get first rotation in reserved seats, followed by ST/OBC.

 

4. Welfare-to-Political Capital Conversion

• • Transform passive beneficiaries into decision-makers

• • Link 50% of PMAY/Ujjwala subsidies to participation in ward committees – Delhi pilot increased women’s policy inputs by 38%.
  • Legal Lever: Amend Nari Shakti Vandan Act to include “Performance Clauses” – states losing delimitation benefits if <25% of women head urban local bodies.
  • Introduce “Scheme Co-Ownership Certificates,” giving women legal standing to audit welfare implementation.

 

5. Anti-Gatekeeping Audit Framework

• • Dismantle familial/institutional barriers through transparency

• • Mechanism: Mandate parties to disclose under RTI:
    • Funds spent on SC/ST women candidates vs upper-caste men
    • Percentage of women in core decision-making bodies
    • Cases of VAWIP reported/internal actions
  • Sweden’s “Gender Budgeting Law” increased women’s electoral funding share from 18% to 44% (2014-2024).

THE CONCLUSION:

India’s women voters are no longer a monolithic “vote bank” but remain far from a cohesive political constituency. Their electoral behavior reflects intersectional identities and top-down welfare politics rather than gender solidarity. To bridge this gap, policies must address structural barriers (e.g., workforce participation, voter registration) and foster gender-inclusive political spaces beyond tokenistic schemes.

UPSC PAST YEAR QUESTION:

Q. The reservation of seats for women in the institutions of local self- government has had a limited impact on the patriarchal character of the Indian Political Process.” Comment. 2019

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Despite rising voter turnout, women’s political participation in India remains constrained by fragmented identities and structural contradictions. Discuss how caste-regional dynamics and welfare tokenism impede the formation of a cohesive women’s constituency.

SOURCE:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/what-factors-influence-womens-political-participation/article69345520.ece

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