Women's Position In Indian Grassroots Politics: A Legal Perspective
- IJLLR Journal
- 4 days ago
- 1 min read
Aaisha Hasan, Mody University of Science and Technology
ORCID ID - 0009-0008-9395-2962
ABSTRACT
This study aim to explore legal perspective on the position of women in Indian Grassroot Politics. Women’s participation in political leadership is essential for democratic governance and gender justice. In India, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments created a major legal milestone by reserving at least one-third of seats and leadership posts in Panchayats and Municipalities for women, with several states later extending this to fifty percent. While these reforms greatly increased women’s formal representation, their actual experience in office often remains limited. Many elected women face patriarchal control, lack of autonomy, proxy leadership by male relatives, inadequate training, financial dependence, and weak institutional support. Uneven devolution of powers across states further
reduces their authority in practice.
This article examines the constitutional framework, state laws, judicial approaches, academic literature, and international standards governing women’s political participation at the grassroots level. It argues that reservation has opened political spaces for women but has not consistently ensured real decision-making power. The study concludes that genuine empowerment requires stronger implementation, better resources, capacity- building, and social change to transform numerical presence into meaningful
leadership.
