In India, the proportion of women in the legislature has been very low. For example, the percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha has touched 14.36 per cent of its total strength for the first time in 2019. Their share in the state assemblies is less than 5 per cent. In this respect, India is among the bottom group of nations in the world. India is behind the averages for several developing countries in Africa and Latin America. In the government, cabinets are largely all-male even when a woman becomes the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister. Women’s organisations and activists have been demanding a reservation of at least one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women. A bill with this proposal has been pending before the Parliament for more than a decade. But there is no consensus over this among all the political parties. The bill has not been passed. Gender division is an example that some form of social division that needs to be expressed in politics. This also shows that disadvantaged groups do benefit when social divisions become a political issue.

What is the proportion of women in Lok Sabha in 2019?