Every passing year, on International Women’s Day, there is a renewed call to legislate the Women’s Reservation Bill to enable election of women in Legislative Assemblies and Parliament. Such calls are aptly justified by data – both anecdotal and empirical – to suggest that India has failed to address the role of gender in policymaking.
In spite of efforts to increase the number of women representatives in local governance, successive governments have done little to build capacity or provide support systems to ensure the fulfilment of core objectives of increased gender participation.
