Data Reveals 44 Percent Of Seats In Local Government In India Are Held By Women

United Nations (UN) Women data revealed that in India, more than 44 percent of the seats in local government are held by women. Data from 136 countries were compiled and India ranked 11 overall.

In India, 1,375,914 out of 3,100,804 seats in the local government were held by women. Internationally, 2,875,964 out of 8,394,873 seats in local government are held by women. India ranks above nations such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Sweden, New Zealand, Spain, and Japan in that regard.

With 44.4 percent of the seats in local bodies being occupied by women, India ranks above the global average of 34.3 percent with a significant gap.

Women In Local Government

As the largest democracy in the world, India also has the largest number of women elected to the local government.

While the percentage of women in local government is above 44 percent in India, the percentage of member of parliaments and ministers is lacking. 15 percent of the parliamentarians are women and only 9 percent of the ministers are women.

In India, 33 percent of the seats are reserved for women in urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions. Around 20 states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Karnataka have increased women’s reservation in panchayati raj institutions to 50 percent.

India has more than 3 million seats and more than 1.3 million seats are held by women. Out of the 1.3 million seats, around 86,000 of women are chairing the local bodies.

The states of Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh have the highest number of women representatives in panchayats. In Uttarakhand, 56 percent of the local government seats are held by women and in Chattisgarh, 54.8 percent of the seats are held by women.

The district of Dadra and Nagar Haveli has the lowest percentage of women in panchayat at 32 percent.

Even though India is ahead of developed economies with 44 percent of local seats in government being held by women, there is work left to be done for the representation of women in politics. Currently, the position of head of state is held by a woman. President Droupadi Murmu’s appointment in the post marked her as the first tribal woman to hold the position. There is currently only one female chief minister present in India, Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.

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