Gender and Sexuality Studies

Abstract

Gender inequality lies at the heart of power politics and there is no better place where it plays out than the Parliament or Congress. While National Parliaments have received enough research attention, in federal democracies like India, it is the State Legislative Assembly where the space given to women as political leaders that needs to be studied. To what extent is it a space for gendered representation of electoral democracy needs to be examined. Are political parties effective vehicles addressing the concerns of women, who comprise nearly fifty percent of the population on this planet? In the unsettled nature of the democratic institutions and actors, the demand for equal space for both genders tends to fall through the gap. Gender overlaps the intersection of the tripartite co-relation between democracy, governance and elections. Any holistic understanding of Elections in the 21st century, especially in pandemic reality, will be incomplete if it ignores the gender angle. Can party-political communication ignore the gender question? What new conversations are needed? This paper intends to look at the issue of gender representation for women candidates in State Legislative Assemblies in India. It will particularly look at the western State of West Bengal, which has had a history of women empowerment under its fire-brand woman Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.

Biography

Dr. Priyanca Mathur is Head and Associate Professor at Centre for Research in Social Sciences and Education, Jain University, Bengaluru, India. With a Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and an M.Sc in Forced Migration from University of Oxford, U.K., Priyanca has been researching and writing at the intersection of gender and migration for years, and guiding doctoral scholars in that area too. Her current research projects look at Myanmarese Refugees in India and Women in Higher Decision-Making in Politics in Indian States. She is also a Gender Consultant and International Trainer the Forum of Federations, Canada for its project on Federalism and Women, Peace and Security in Myanmar.