Politics and Prospects of Reservation of Women in India
Politics and Prospects of Reservation of Women in India
Dr. Lubna Yousuf
Lecturer
Govt. Degree College for Women, Anantnag,
Kashmir
Gender equality – political and social – is guaranteed in the Constitution of India. This political equality not only includes the equal right to franchise to both men and women, but also equal right to gain access to the formal institutionalized centres of power. This means that every adult female irrespective of her social position or achievements has the opportunity to function as a citizen and individual partner in the task of nation-building.1 Women’s participation in Indian political scene was inextricably linked with the freedom struggle in the 20th century. The participation of women in the national movement and the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi can be considered as the major forces which made women aware of their political rights and responsibilities and helped them to come out of the security of their homes to the public domain. A demand for women’s franchise was initiated by Sarojini Naidu who alongwith a deputation of Indian women laid a demand for enfranchisement of women on the basis of equality with men, before the British Parliament in 1917. In 1921, although the Reforms Act gave the right to vote to women but at the same time certain qualifications were prescribed for them like the possession of ‘wifehood’, property and education. This led some women’s organizations to draft a memorandum wherein they demanded the right to vote without any kind of sex-discrimination. But this was turned down by the British government. Although the government turned it down, the Karachi session of Indian National Congress in 1931, resolved in favour of women’s franchise and representation, regardless of their status and qualifications. Subsequently in 1935, the Government of India Act, deleting the condition of marriage,
Dr. Lubna Yousuf
Lecturer
Govt. Degree College for Women, Anantnag,
Kashmir
Gender equality – political and social – is guaranteed in the Constitution of India. This political equality not only includes the equal right to franchise to both men and women, but also equal right to gain access to the formal institutionalized centres of power. This means that every adult female irrespective of her social position or achievements has the opportunity to function as a citizen and individual partner in the task of nation-building.1 Women’s participation in Indian political scene was inextricably linked with the freedom struggle in the 20th century. The participation of women in the national movement and the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi can be considered as the major forces which made women aware of their political rights and responsibilities and helped them to come out of the security of their homes to the public domain. A demand for women’s franchise was initiated by Sarojini Naidu who alongwith a deputation of Indian women laid a demand for enfranchisement of women on the basis of equality with men, before the British Parliament in 1917. In 1921, although the Reforms Act gave the right to vote to women but at the same time certain qualifications were prescribed for them like the possession of ‘wifehood’, property and education. This led some women’s organizations to draft a memorandum wherein they demanded the right to vote without any kind of sex-discrimination. But this was turned down by the British government. Although the government turned it down, the Karachi session of Indian National Congress in 1931, resolved in favour of women’s franchise and representation, regardless of their status and qualifications. Subsequently in 1935, the Government of India Act, deleting the condition of marriage,
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