R. Indira, Director of International Centre, Mysore University, said here on Friday that women’s representation in politics can be increased only when political parties reserved certain seats to women and fielded them in the elections compulsorily.
Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of a two-day conference on “Women and political representation in India” at University College, she said political parties should adopt a policy of compulsorily reserving certain seats to women.
Currently political parties used women as capital to get votes and power, but did not give them what they deserved, she said.
Ms. Indira said that many land-owners and the upper caste in politics feared a “relocation of power” if women were fielded in elections. The former professor of Sociology said the Constitution had created space for women in democratic institutions.
Strong roleWhat was needed was actual participation in the democratic system and equal utilisation of opportunities given. She said active and meaningful participation of women was required in democratic institutions.
Citing an example on how women were being sidelined, she said that in some village forest committee meetings, voices of women were not heard as they were not being allowed to speak at all.
She said that many women were not ready to take leadership as their body was liable to attack. “It is the main constraint to take leadership,” she said.
P.S. Yadapadithaya, Registrar (Administration), Mangalore University, said that participation of women in the democratic process was important. Though legal provisions have been made for women participation in democratic institutions they were not being enforced properly, he said.
Department of Political Science at the college organised the seminar.
Dharanidevi Malagatti, Deputy Director, Karnataka Police Academy, Mysore, also spoke.
