Opinion Why has women’s reservation passed now, after decades of stagnation?

The most compelling evidence supporting the idea that gender quotas enhance gender equality in politics and governance comes from India’s local urban and rural bodies. India currently boasts an astonishing 62 per cent, roughly 1.375 million, of all women politicians at the local level worldwide. Quotas have indeed enabled Indian women access local political office. Moreover, gender reservations in India’s local politics not only represent the world’s most progressive gender quota policy but also constitute the largest natural experiment in politics.

A wealth of natural experimental research, including contributions from Nobel laureate Esther Duflo, underscores the tangible successes of India’s female policymakers. In particular, the paper finds that women panchayat leaders responded to women constituents’ concerns, like drinking water, more so than did men leaders, and increased women’s involvement in village affairs. My research further demonstrates that women leaders are more likely to have connections with and respond to the needs of vulnerable women, including those who are marginalised, poor, widowed, or divorced.

To understand why the gender reservation Bill has finally made its way through India’s Parliament after decades of stagnation, we must turn our attention once more to how women in local politics are mobilising women in grassroots politics. Far from India’s legislative halls and elite circles, my research points to the mobilisation of millions of grassroots female party activists who have emerged as a formidable force in India’s electoral landscape. Although their numbers are substantial, they are often overshadowed by their male counterparts, consequently escaping the notice of most researchers and political pundits. In exchange for their tireless efforts in extensive ground campaigns, engaging with nearly 540 million voters each election, and bolstering party support at the grassroots level, these women demand their fair share of party tickets and nominations. Party leaders now rely on these party women to mobilise the female vote and can no longer disregard their calls.

Based on a decade of fieldwork and experimental research, I have concluded that the seeds for the rise of these grassroots party women and their influence on India’s political landscape were sown in the 1990s with gender reservations in local politics. Electoral constituencies with prolonged gender reservations are more likely to have women party activists, and in these areas, women have significantly better odds of advancing to state and national parliaments. The increasing activism of women within political parties also explains the closing gender gap in voter turnout and the BJP’s success in appealing to female voters. Relying on their women-centric grassroots networks with women in self-help groups, ASHA workers, school management committees, and mahila morchas, women leaders and party activists can draw attention to and address the claims of women voters in poor urban as well as rural villages. For the first time in India’s political history, women party activists are staging protests demanding party tickets—an unprecedented development. These ambitious and independent party women simply seek recognition for their hard work. While they remain backstage, they are at the forefront of this constitutional change and deserve recognition.

With the passage of the Bill, set to be implemented after the next round of delimitation, and the burgeoning activism of women within political parties, it appears that India is on the brink of a gender revolution in the coming decades. However, this optimism must be tempered with a sobering reality check and lessons we can learn from our own experience with gender reservations in local politics. Women candidates and party activists face significant harassment and intense competition from male candidates and party workers, who not only outnumber them but often hold formal authority within women’s party wings. Instead of providing opportunities and independence to these women, party selection committees often favour male candidates and activists by fielding their wives in reserved constituencies. Simultaneously, male party members vehemently oppose and disapprove of women candidates running in non-reserved seats. Consequently, candidate selection in virtually all political parties continues to favour mediocre men.

The success of gender reservation policies, at any level of politics, hinges not only on the existence of gender reservations but also on parties’ willingness to actively seek out, select, and promote talented women within their ranks. Millions of Indian women are contesting in local politics and aspire to reach the highest echelons. In the words of a woman mukhiya, “He might accompany me to the BDO office, but it is my thumb that matters.” Eliminating these remaining barriers will allow India’s political parties to harness the full potential of women’s burgeoning leadership talent.

The writer is Assistant Professor of Politics, Princeton University