Elected But Excluded: The Paradox Of Women In Indian Politics
Swanandi Patil & Madhura Narkar, KES Shri Jayantilal H. Patel Law College
ABSTRACT
India, a country that is known for its rich cultural diversity, a country where various social norms like caste, language, religion co-exist. A country that has a great ancient mythological history where women were worshipped as Goddesses, sadly still the reality of their treatment in places of power in this 21st century reveals nothing but stark contradiction. It is often claimed that the patriarchy is now dead but in reality, it still does exist.
Issues like gender exclusion, societal bias and various barriers hinder women from entering into politics. not just that but even once entered, women still go through the issue of “puppet-leadership” where basically women from political families are used as tokens by the male members of the families for the seats. Women in this country form nearly half the population yet they hold just a 14-15% reservation in parliament. The reality of treatment of women in the spaces of power and authority in India is deeply troubling and this research paper exactly intends to highlight various issues faced by them in Indian politics.
Keywords: Women, Politics, Patriarchy, India.
