By Ranjani Raghunathan, Intern – Media & Communication Division

Ask a group of people to think about leadership, and an array of characteristics will come back in return- charismatic, strong, dominating, ability to take charge, and many more. Next, ask them to name a few leaders, and many names from across the world will be spouted. Now, see how many of those names belong to women. Chances are, very few.

World over, leadership has traditionally been a male prerogative. In India, it has not been very different. While India has given birth to a number of women leaders- whether it’s Kasturbha Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu who played an important role in the freedom movement, or Kiran Bedi, the first female IPS officer or contemporarily, President Pratibha Patil, businesswoman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, educationist Dr. Shyama Chona- the names are far and few, and often lost when we have to recount the leaders in the country.

In a UN conference in 2001, it was stated that “in the world as a whole, women comprise 51 percent of the population, do 66 percent of the work, receive 10 percent of the income and own less than one percent of the property”. While women constitute practically half of the country’s population, their representation in important leadership positions in the country remains alarmingly low. This is particularly true for political leadership. There are only 59 female Members of Parliament out of 545 total members in the 15th Lok Sabha and 25 female MPs out of 242 total members in the Rajya Sabha (less than 11%).

As more women step out of their houses in pursuit of goals, gender issues have come into the forefront like never before. Thus, it is important that women are given the right platform and leverage to emerge as leaders, in order to tackle the various issues which continue to plague women from across strata, and spheres. There is a need for leadership as a concept to be inculcated among women, so that more women leaders are created.

By Sophie Hardefeldt, a Centre for Social Research Intern in the Gender Training Institute. Sophie recently graduated with a Masters in International Development from RMIT, Australia.

Tawakkul Karman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee

Earlier this month three women Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, were each awarded a Nobel Prize “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”. The announcement got me thinking about the history of the global women rights movement and questioning why, 40 years after the women in development movement began, gender inequality remains so persuasive throughout most of the world.

Take India for example, where women make up almost half of the population and where women’s equality is enshrined within the constitution. Despite efforts being made to address gender inequality by government and non-government organisations, discrimination against women continues almost unabated. Now in 2011, India has the world’s worst sex ratio with only 940 girls being born for every 1000 boys, sex-selective abortions are on the rise, women receive less education and are more likely to be illiterate, women are less likely to find employment, are often restricted to the unorganised employment sector which lack security and workers rights, and receive lower wages than their male counterparts. Furthermore, violence against women persists in the form of domestic violence, honour and dowry killings, trafficking in persons, forced prostitution and harassment.

While gender inequality is generally recognised as being detrimental for women, the wider impacts on society are often ignored and the issue is marginalised in favour of more ‘mainstream’ economic concerns. The myriad of social, cultural and economic benefits that the empowerment of women has for women, men and society at large is often forgotten, or simply undervalued and ignored.

So what are the benefits of promoting women’s rights?

Educating women leads to a reduction in child mortality and improves nutrition and health within families. Educated women are also more likely to promote education within their community and are more able to generate an income outside of the home.

Women are more likely to invest in families than men and increasing women’s access to income and control over resources not only benefits women but also improves child nutrition, education levels and healthcare attendance amongst their families and communities.

Addressing violence against women reduces levels of mortality and morbidity, ensures that women are physically and emotionally able to participate within their communities and leads to a more healthy and happy family environment.

Furthermore, when women participate in the political arena they are more able to address issues of discrimination against women and girls and are empowered them to address gender imbalances within their community.

It’s encouraging to see Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman being recognised for their contribution to the women’s rights movement. It would be truly amazing if their objectives could be realised and gender equality was achieved across the world. The benefits for women and men would be endless.

Leading politicians, activists and academics met yesterday at a CSR-organised event entitled, “Women’s Reservation Bill: The Road Ahead,” to demand the passage of the 33% Women’s Reservation Bill and call for greater gender equality throughout India. With approximately 200 people in attendance at the Constitution Club in New Delhi, we also passed a resolution calling for the Lok Shabha to pass the Bill, which mandates that 33 percent of seats are reserved for female politicians in national and state assemblies, without delay.

At the same time, we celebrated the release of CSR Director Dr. Ranjana Kumari’s newest book, “Reign She Will,” which chronicles developments within the women’s movement since Indian independence, while also laying out key reasons why the immediate passage of the Reservation Bill is so crucial.  “While the Bill still waits,” Dr. Kumari remarked, “women will not.”

Dr. Anand Kumar, a senior sociology professor at JNU, spoke on the increasing gap between rich and poor in India, and the high levels of corruption in the Lok Shabha. The only way to save the country from this corruption, he argued, is through democratic participation of the people at the grass roots—and that means more female politicians ensuring a fair representation of India’s women in politics.

Dr. Prabha Thakur, President of the All India Mahila Congress and Member of Parliament representing Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha, described women as the backbone of society who we must respect and give their due.

Dr. Kiran Bedi, India’s first and highest ranking female Indian Police Service officer (retired in 2007), argued that since the Bill has not been passed, it’s apparent that political parties are not truly willing to support and implement the Bill despite what they say in front of the media. She also argued that those few women already inside Parliament walls are reluctant to support the Bill, fearing that more women in politics will mean less power for existing female politicians.

Dr. D. Raja, National Secretary of the Communist Party of India, proclaimed, “Unless India acknowledges the importance of gender equality and achieve it we are not a full civilization.”

On a different note, Ms. Chandresh Kumari MP, Indian National Congress Party and President, Parliamentary Committee of Empowerment and Advancement of Women, said that the passing of the Bill is tokenism, and that real mark of success is in the implementation.

View more photos of the speakers and participants at Centre for Social Research’s Flickr account.

The state of Bihar had a 2.5 crore, approximately 54 percent turnout of female voters in the November election. The large voter turnout shows that Bihar’s state government has taken major steps in the past few years to increase the role of women in politics.

Bihar, which has typically been criticized for its ill treatment of women, was in fact the first state to give 50 percent reservation to women in the panchayati raj (a political system advocating for a decentralized governments in villages) in 2006. The Bihar elections serve as an important example of how women are essential to any movement of change. “Perhaps it is the improved law and order in the state that played a prominent role in drawing women to the polling booths. Whatever it may be, the increased participation of women in electoral politics signals a significant change in Bihar’s patriarchal society,” said Dr. Ranjana Kumari, CSR Director, in a recent Hindustan Times article.

We’ve noticed that Bihar’s state government has taken a few key steps to ensure a higher influence from women in politics. The first is the improvement of roads that have taken place all over Bihar, making transportation easier. “The greatest concern for a mother is the safety of her daughter. The improvement of roads increases the safety of woman, and that secures her getting an education,” said Dr. Kumari. With better roads, more women have been able to enroll in education and increase their role in development issues.

Enrollment has also increased as a result of the Bihar government spending nearly 175 crore rupees in the past three years on bicycles for nearly nine lakh school going girls. This investment has helped increase the school enrolment rate of girls by three times. The greater number of educated women is leading to a greater number of women showing up to vote at the polls. “Women in Bihar have emerged as a strong voting constituency. Even a three to five percent increase in the number of women voting can shift the ballots,” said Dr. Kumari.

Politicians should look upon Bihar as an example of a state that is moving on from prejudices against women, and working more towards equality among the sexes. Now is the perfect time for politicians in the Uttar Pradesh government to pass the 33 Percent Reservation of Seats for Women in Parliament Bill! The Bill, which would help reduce the barriers of political participation and allow women to get an equal say in parliament, is still stuck in the Lok Sabha (Council of states).

Around 5,000 women from across India rallied near Jantar Mantar in India with the slogan, “We’re not begging: We are demanding our rights” as a part of a rally to pass the 33 percent Women’s Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha. The Bill, which will ensure that one-third of the entire Parliament is reserved for women, was recently passed in the Rajya Sabha, the lower Parliamentary house.

A delegation representing 350 women’s and civil society groups from all over India met President Pratibha Patil and appealed to use her power to get the Bill passed in this session of Parliament. The delegation presented a memorandum signed by thousands of women and men to President Patil which noted that the “passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha has been a significant step, but the Bill does not become law unless it is passed in the Lok Sabha and endorsed by at least 15 state assemblies.”

The delegates told President Patil that this is a now-or-never moment for the country. Passing the Bill would be a historic step, not just for India, but also for the world. President Patil expressed her full and unequivocal support for the Women’s Reservation Bill. Speaking to a delegation representing the Alliance for 33%, she said, “I am with you, as my speech to Parliament indicated. Women’s reservation is good for the country.”

Even as the delegates were meeting the president, a mammoth rally of thousands of men, women and children was taking place outside Parliament. The delegates presented the President with a special cap and umbrella, which had the campaign message emblazoned on them. They told the president that it was symbolic of the demand of all the rally’s participants, including notable personalities like Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, and prominent parliamentarians like Jayanthi Natarajan, Brinda Karat, D. Raja, and Christine Lazarus.

Everyone at Centre for Social Research is celebrating the successful passage of the much-awaited Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha! We’re still optimistic about it potentially clearing in Lok Sabha later today.

The Bill was finally passed yesterday in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian National Parliament) after going through a lot of chaotic debate on Monday. The Bill is expected to help bring more women into the political mainstream and give them more tangible political and economic power. This is undoubtedly a historic achievement for everyone in the biggest democracy of the world.

“Although this legislature is finally passing after years of toil jumping over hundreds of hurdles, we are elated to see it getting passed in the Upper House, and are hopeful for its passage in Lok Sabha, too,” said our Director Dr. Ranjana Kumari. “We thank the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the opposition party and all other political parties who have supported and ensured the passage of the bill.”

The practise of reserving seats for women in the local bodies started with the Panchayati Raj Act of 1992 and granted no less then 33% reservation to the women in Panchayati Raj (a political system advocating for villages to administer their affairs through separate, decentralized governments) institutions and local bodies. However, successive governments since 1996 have been promising and trying to reserve 33% seats for women in Parliament with little headway being achieved until today.

Countless rallies, marches, petitions, campaigns, media cooperation and press conferences have been organised in the last five years to mount pressure on policy makers and garner support from women from different parts of the country.

CSR Director Dr. Ranjana Kumari on this historic moment

An alliance of nearly 35 of India’s most influential women’s organizations held a demand meeting today to pressurize parliamentarians to pass the much delayed Women’s Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha. Nearly 1,000 activists participated in the meeting to lend impetus to the women’s struggle towards political equality.

The alliance included Centre for Social Research, WomenPowerConnect, Stree Shakti, Action India, All India Women’s Conference and Mahila Congress.

Some of the most prominent meeting attendees included Smt. Girija Vyas, Chairperson, National Commission of Women; Smt. Chandresh Kumari, Member of Parliament (MP); Dr. Ranjana Kumari, President, Women Power Connect ; Director, Centre for Social Research; Mr. Madhu Yakshi (MP); Shivanand Tiwari (MP) and Ms. Prabha Thakur, President, Mahila Congress.

“The Bill has been facing strong opposition from the Yadav trio. Our meeting will bring together the collective voices of women who want political equality. We will continue to mount pressure and garner support from parliamentarians to ensure that the Bill gets passed in Lok Sabha,” said our own Dr. Ranjana Kumari.

The bill has evoked sharp opposition from the Yadav trio, who’ve demanded a quota within the quota for women from backward communities and minorities. Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad have threatened to withdraw support if the government signs the Bill in its present form.

The passage of the Bill in Rajya Sabha (Council of States) in March 2010 was a historic moment when the major national parties reached a political consensus. Despite the vast political differences between each party, all supported the Congress-led bill, including the BJP and the Left who were in the opposition.

Efforts to mobilise support for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill received a major boost today when the President of India, Pratibha Patil, noticed our online signature campaign! Our web-based petition received a response letter from the Presidents’ office acknowledging the initiative and promising a recommendation.

Since the online petitionlaunched, hundreds of letters supporting the bill from different parts of the country have been received at the President’s office through CSR. The Women’s Reservation Bill will help bring women into the political mainstream and give them tangible political and economic power.

Despite a female President, attempts to increase the presence of women representatives in Parliament and state bodies have failed miserably thus far. Our Director, Dr. Ranjana Kumari says, “Indian women crossed a measly 10 percent mark in the last general elections, and have never occupied more seats than that. Our record for sending women to Parliament is among the worst in the world. Out of 135 countries, India is number 105. The level of political empowerment is an important influence on the status of gender equity in any nation.”

In the United Nations Development Programme’s Gender Gap Rankings, New Zealand, Iceland, Norway, Finland, the UK and Germany rank at the top while India comes in at number 24 in gender equality. During the last 15 years, around 50 countries have introduced legal quotas inscribed in constitutional or electoral rules, ensuring a stipulated minimum representation of women in the decision-making body.

Sign the petition to voice your support for putting more women in politics!