Women rising

Self-help groups bring about socio-economic empowerment of women by providing access to income-generating opportunities. Focus should now be on improving their political representation

- SWASTI PACHAURI

WOMEN HAVE been at the forefront of politics and governance in India in recent years. Schemes, slogans, and women-centric themes in important policies are increasingly becoming tools to encourage and woo this fast-growing electoral group.

In the 2019 general elections, women and men voted in almost equal numbers. And since then, the number of women voters has seen an increase of 5.1 percent, while that of men has risen 3.6 percent, according to a January 2022 address by the country's chief election commissioner. Over the years, women have emerged as the most critical constituencies for political parties, who have been including their concerns in electoral announcements. Governments have also introduced women-centric policies; for instance, through the provision of gender parity in wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act; through the building of toilets or izzat ghars under the Swachh Bharat mission; through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana that provides LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections in the name of women of the households; through the provision of tapped water supply under the Jal Jeevan Mission, which gives women and young girls a respite from the age-old practice of carrying buckets of water to meet their daily household needs; and through several measures by state governments to provide free public transport and cycles to women.