There is a need to move beyond empowerment towards improving the ability of urban women to join and remain in the workforce
At the national level, gender reservation in Parliament is yet an undone deal. The Women’s Reservation Bill, seeking to reserve 33 percent seats in the lower house of Parliament, is still pending approval in the Lok Sabha. The Bill has been in discussion for more than two decades; while it met the endorsement of the Rajya Sabha in March 2010, no political consensus is in sight in the Lok Sabha. At present, only 14 percent of the MPs in the Lok Sabha are women. However as early as in 1992, the 74th Amendment of the Constitution pioneered gender reservation at the sub-national level. It mandated gender reservation of not less than 33 percent of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in urban local bodies (ULBs). Furthermore, out of the seats reserved in ULBs for scheduled castes and tribes, not less than 33 percent have to be reserved for women belonging to these groups. Additionally, at least 33 percent of the offices of chairpersons of ULBs are also reserved for women. Reserved seats are allotted to different territorial constituencies on a rotational basis so that the effect of reservation is, as far as possible, evenly spread across all geographical areas of the city. Since the Constitution has fixed merely the minimum percentage of gender reservation in ULBs, a number of states have exceeded this and reserved 50 percent of ULB seats for women. These states include Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tripura. It is evident that these states have an overwhelming presence of women at the local government level, particularly as some women have been elected from unreserved seats.
Since the Constitution has fixed merely the minimum percentage of gender reservation in ULBs, a number of states have exceeded this and reserved 50 percent of ULB seats for women.
It is natural that while the proposed Women’s Reservation Bill awaits approval in Parliament and in the meanwhile generates debate on its positives and negatives, a critical look would be taken on what the gender reservations have achieved at the local level. If one were to begin with the positives, it is evident that local gender reservations have drawn out tens of thousands of women from the kitchen and home in every five-yearly election and catapulted them into the arena of local politics. Without the Constitutional command, they would not have become part of electoral democracy. This, therefore, has definitely been a shot in the arm for women’s empowerment and gender equality. A study of the women councillors of Jaipur Municipal Corporation revealed that many independent-minded women have emerged and made politics a career and have shown abilities that match those of the male councillors. They have enabled some constructive modifications in gender prejudices held by society in general and by municipal bureaucracies in particular. The resultant sensitisation of local societies and city bureaucracies is no mean achievement.
Further, a study conducted in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation found that women councillors fared very well in programme implementation, and they had advanced community services and interests. This, in turn, rewarded the women leaders as they got re-elected from their wards, even after they were declared open seats. It appears that the voters saw in them new possibilities for change and a readiness to engage with subjects and issues that were more meaningful and substantive to the community. Women councillors had also excelled in fund utilisation. It varied from 60 to 90 percent and utilisation below 50 percent was rare.
A study of the women councillors of Jaipur Municipal Corporation revealed that many independent-minded women have emerged and made politics a career and have shown abilities that match those of the male councillors.
What the above examples show is that women, in general, are more likely to pursue inclusive policies and respond to constituent concerns. Health, community welfare, and poverty reduction specially appeal to them, and women representatives are more likely to pursue them with vigour. Occupying positions such as mayor or chairpersons of statutory municipal committees equip women with skills needed for higher levels of political office. These also have a multiplying effect and encourage other young women and girls to aspire for positions of leadership.
Sadly, gender reservations at the local level have failed to become a platform for women to move into state and national politics and the number of women elected at the state and national level have barely improved. There are less than 15 percent women legislators in assemblies and Parliament. Despite the effective implementation of the reservation for over two decades, gender inequalities remain in party hierarchies, and women continue to be kept out of key governance posts. Despite the gender reservation system, historic gender inequalities have been too deep seated to be entirely uprooted. Within the ULBs, one witnesses the wide-spread tokenism that exist within gender-reserved seats, where wives of councillors have stepped into the shoes of husbands who have found themselves blocked by gender reservation. Husbands continue to control the wards as elected wives work as proxies for their husbands.
Political parties have a pivotal role in regard to women’s political participation. It is the parties that determine which candidates are nominated, and it is their assessment about which candidates are likely to be elected that prevails in the process of selection. They, therefore, play a critical role in the process of women’s empowerment. Unfortunately, the political parties themselves have perpetuated these inequities within their hierarchies and women find themselves kept out of key posts.
However, the objectives sought to be served through gender reservation in ULBs ought not to stop at women empowerment and gender justice. Equally significant should be a more focused attention on the issues that are specifically related to urban women. It has been seen that while women constitute almost half the city’s population and have customised needs in the city, there is not much evidence of any pronounced focus on their problems by women councillors.
Women-led households, where they are the sole providers, especially require assistance through support services. Women need facilities that allow acquisition of skills and skill upgradation through capacity building programmes.
Women form a small percentage of the work force in Indian cities. A recnt survey puts their participation at a miserable 10.3 percent. This situation is unfair, and steps need to be taken so that more women can get employed. They also should have the option to live and work independently, if the situation so warrants. Women, whether low wage employees or those who work in offices, need access to housing and public transport from homes to workplaces. Women with small children need support systems that take care of their children, allowing them to go to work. Those that work in the informal sector or produce goods need access to markets. Women-led households, where they are the sole providers, especially require assistance through support services. Women need facilities that allow acquisition of skills and skill upgradation through capacity building programmes. Elderly and abandoned women need shelter and support. So do women who require care on account of domestic violence and other kinds of trauma.
However, no significant effort seems to have been made by women councillors in increasing the employment percentage or in providing specialised services for the areas cited above. The Mumbai Development Plan 2034 provides for a string of gender-related amenities, such as multipurpose housing for working women, childcare centres, vending areas for women, women skill centres, homeless shelters, gender-centric public toilets, and housing for women. But these suggestions originated from city-based NGOs that worked in the area of gender.
There is, therefore, a clear need for capacity building programmes that target women councillors to enable them further to perform the normal functions of councillors as well as proactively play a strong advocacy role in the ULBs for the focused needs of women citizens. While gender empowerment and gender justice have great significance, they must translate into bettering of women in cities.
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Dr. Ramanath Jha is Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Mumbai. He works on urbanisation — urban sustainability, urban governance and urban planning. Dr. Jha belongs ...
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