Money and muscle power, absence of big women names make a tough glass ceiling in Karnataka

In the 2018 Assembly elections, 7 women got elected among Karnataka’s 224 MLAs (3.1% of total). In the May 2023, when 10 women got elected (4.5% of total) out of the 185 women in the race, it was the maximum in 34 years.

Of the winners, 4 belong to the ruling Congress, 3 to the BJP, 2 to the JD(S), while 1 is an Independent.

Over the years, the number of women MLAs in Karnataka has swung erratically, with little consistency in terms of both those fielded and those who won.

In 2023, the Congress, which swept the polls, fielded 11 women among its 223 candidates, the BJP 12 among 224 candidates and the JD(S) 13 among 209. The Aam Aadmi Party fielded the maximum women, 17, and contested 209 seats.

In 2018, the number of women candidates was higher, at 219, of whom only 7 won. The Congress had fielded 15 at the time, the BJP 6 and JD(S) 5. In 2013, just 6 women won out of 176 in the fray; in 2008, it was 3 out of 107.

One reason for the poor representation of women in Karnataka politics is that the state lacks dominant, mainstream women political leaders, unlike neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. In recent years, the growing prevalence of money and liquor in the state’s politics has also alienated women, political observers say.

Pointing out that low representation for women in Legislatures is true for all states, Nayana Jawahar, first-time Congress MLA whose mother Motamma was the first Dalit woman MLA of Karnataka, says: “At the end of the day, it is about a patriarchal society. You have to create opportunities, otherwise it is not going to happen.”

Hence, Jawahar welcomes reservations, giving the example of quota for women in panchayati raj institutions. “You can draw a comparison to the participation of SC/ST and OBC communities in elections. It is only after reservations and opportunities were created by the force of law that greater participation happened. This is why the reservation Act for women is so important,” she says.

Of the 10 women MLAs in Karnataka, five are Dalit MLAs, and five come from illustrious political families.

The Dalit MLAs include Jawahar; Roopakala Shashidar, a two-term MLA from KGF and daughter of veteran Congress leader K H Muniyappa; Bhagirathi Murulya, a first-time BJP MLA from Sullia; Manjula S, a first-time BJP MLA from Mahadevapura and the wife of former MLA Aravind Limbavalli; and Sharada Pooryanaik, a second-time JD(S) MLA from Shimoga Rural.

The other women MLAs are Lakshmi Hebbalkar from Belagavi Rural, the only woman minister in the Congress government; BJP Nippani MLA Shashikala Jolle, the wife of BJP MP Annasaheb Jolle; Kaneez Fatima, a two-term Congress MLA from Kalaburagi North and the wife of the late six-term MLA Qamarul Islam, who is also the only woman Muslim MLA in Karnataka; Karemma Naik, a giant killer and first-time JD(S) MLA from Devadurga seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes; and Latha Mallikarjun, a first time Independent MLA from Harapanahalli and the daughter of the late M P Prakash, who was associated with both the Janata Dal and Congress and was a former deputy CM.

In 2002, researcher V Vijayalakshmi from the Institute of Social and Economic Change in Bengaluru carried out an analysis of the participation of women in politics in Karnataka, following reservation for women in local bodies in 1995.

Its report titled ‘Gender Accountability and Political Representation in Local Government’ attributed the low numbers to low interest among the women due to their “marginalisation”. “The alienation that women experienced was because of their marginal participation in the larger political space in political parties and civil society,” the study said.

It found that the reservation of seats in local bodies was ineffective “in nurturing a political culture among women”. “Five years as members in local government did not enable women to develop political contacts or a political base that could have facilitated their continuation in politics,” the study said, finding that women elected to local bodies did not remain in politics at the end of their five-year terms.

It also said: “The position of women based on their caste and class contributed to the variations in political participation of women. There were greater constraints on the participation of women belonging to Scheduled Castes and often in the cases of Scheduled Tribes too. There were no instances where SC/ST women were elected to a general woman constituency (in local polls).”

As for general seats not reserved for women, the report said these were always considered the domain of men.