Women not on top in politics

Reservation or no reservation, only five women are in the fray for 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. DNA asks Mumbaikars and experts whether gender bias prevails in public life too.

Expert View

As a country, we are very gender biased, therefore, we see prejudices towards women in every sphere - be it the corporate world or day-to-day life. Politics is no different. Although, more than the bias the reason why we don't have many women politicians is that they are traditionally protected and sequestered. Women need to make a connection at a grassroots level.

For instance, Priya Dutt has gone and worked with the common people. She is not riding on her father's name alone but is proving her worth in the politics. We need highly qualified politicians - man or woman - who will work for the betterment of its people. They should not forget that they need to build up a reputation and their own identity then only will people look out for them and vote for them. 
—Nandini Sardesai. Sociologist

Paucity of role models for women

Definitely there is a gender bias in politics at a local and national level. The number of women entering politics has not increased, because under our framework a male child is always given preference while getting into politics.

The travesty is that Poonam Mahajan was denied a ticket probably because of the tarnished reputation of her brother Rahul Mahajan.

The dynasty of Scindias or Gandhis have sons in the forefront, so the bias does exist. Despite the 33% reservation, women entering politics is a difficult task, even independent women candidates find it difficult to find a place in politics.

Supriya Sule found it easy probably because Sharad Pawar doesn't have a son. Now women have started coming in the forefront as there are some opportunities for women at the local level. But they do hesitate as they are not accustomed to talking in a public forum and addressing a large audience.

Why does the public expect the women to prove themselves, what is the claim to fame for the many other male candidates? Moreover women don't have many role models. Barring Brinda Karat, no woman politician raises issues pertaining to their concerns. 
—Kammamma Raman. Reader in Public, Administration, Mumbai University

Give a woman a ticket, if you think she is good in her work
I don't think Indian politics is gender biased, I think women don't want to get into politics because they perceive it to be dirty and scheming. I think we have enough women politicians to prove this point. I personally don't agree with the 33% reservation for women in parliament.

Why do you want to make reservation mandatory? Give a woman a ticket, if you think she is good in her work. What's the point of having a woman if she is not a good administrator? When I vote I will do so on the basis of his or her work and credibility not gender. 
—Priya Kale

Women should fight against any kind of gender bias
Women deserve equal treatment when it comes to Lok Sabha seats. Women are broad minded more analytical than men. Also, women look at issues at large and not just women related issues. But men don't want to be ruled by women. We have had excellent women politicians in the past like Sarojini Naidu. And now too Sheila Dixit, Priya Dutt and Supriya Sule are all proving their mettle and doing well. Women should
fight against gender inequality and it is surprising that in spite of the 33% reservation proposal, women are being given a raw deal.
 —Prem Menon

Token representation shows how insecure male politicians are
Politicians know how to woo the public and to get maximum votes. Politicians pay lip service to gender equality, but believe in votebank politics. They try to influence the public by resorting to token representation of women and claim that their party treats women equally. There are many deserving women who do ample work but their application gets rejected. Politicians know that they need to represent women and without that it is difficult to win votes; hence they put up a minimum number of women politicians. Token representation shows how insecure male politicians are of women.  —Khushboo Sahrawat 

Ensure 33% reservation for women in parliament
I'm in favour of giving more seats to women, provided there are enough and capable members. Political parties should choose the candidate for parliament depending on his or her contribution towards social work and also consider whether the candidate has been a member of legislature and civic corporation. Party
manifestos proposing reservation of seats for women should not be only as a token. The current strength of women voters is more than 50% but in spite of that we
don't even have 10% women representatives in parliament. The 33% reservation proposal should be strictly adhered to by political parties.
—Achyut Railkar

A candidate's winning ability counts more than gender
Women get a lot of support from political parties and many of them are active politicians. We can see many of them in the legislative assembly and civic corporation, if not in parliament. In today's day and age I don't think we can still blame gender bias for less women politicians than men. There can be many other reasons. For many politicians, winning ability and other qualifications count more than the gender. Also, many times women politicians might think that rather than going to Delhi she might be able to serve her people at her constituency. We should not forget that women are coming up in various fields and they are getting their dues.
—Vinayak Raut. Shiv Sena

People view me as a serious politician, despite being a woman
I have been an MLA for the last seven years and I haven't had any problem being a woman politician. My constituents and co-workers have been very supportive of my work. The scenario of Indian politics is changing slowly but for the better. People view me as a politician and not as a woman politician. Moreover I think the woman needs to be capable for the job. I think women should come forward and actively participate in politics. Even in a state like Rajasthan, a woman politician is provided with a lot of opportunity. We have had a woman chief minister, the president of our party and the nation is a woman. One must not do a comparative study just because in one state there are only five seats allotted to women.  
 —Bina Kak. Congress

Women's Reservation Bill will empower the common woman
It is shameful that being the largest democracy in the world we still don't have women politicians at par with men. More than gender bias, it's the sense of losing out to a woman which makes men insecure and hence they don't let women rise. Women are a more dedicated and are more conscientious than men. This is the sole reason men don't want them to join politics. An important step to have more women politicians in parliament is commendable, political parties should try to make 33% reservation for women in their organisation. BJP has a good number of women candidates whereas in the Congress, even after having Sonia Gandhi at the top, they haven't been able to pass the Women's Reservation Bill. It will empower the woman.  
—Shaina NC. BJP