Published Paper Details:

A truly representative democracy seeks adequate representation of women in politics. Though representative governments have increased across the world in the last few decades, the participation of women has remained low. According to UN Women, as of September 2022, there were 30 women serving as elected heads of state and/or of government in 28 countries (out of a total of 193 UN member states). This is despite concerted multi-prolonged efforts in recent times to promote women's empowerment and improve gender equality. Legislative representation is fundamental to political empowerment, enabling participation in the law-making process. Legislatures play a vital role in raising debates and discussions on various aspects of governance and in exacting accountability from the government. Women's representation in the national parliament is a key indicator of the extent of gender equality in parliamentary politics. India is the largest and one of the most resilient parliamentary democracies in the world with a female population of 662.9 million. This makes India an important case study of parliamentary representation of women. This paper looks at how women's representation in India's Parliament has improved since independence, if at all.