When the Indian Republic opened its first Parliamentary session in 1952, 39 women leaders stood in the hallowed corridors of power, confronting the polity''s centuries-old trend of male domination. India was leading the way in the push for more inclusive international democracies with 5.5 percent women representation at a time when women made up only 1.7 percent of the total members of the US Congress and 1.1 percent of the UK Parliament The fact that women have a stronger voice in the Indian parliamentary system is a credit to their vital contribution. However, now it appears that India has deviated from that road.

Women in parliament: From 1947 to present

• Despite a woman Prime Minister, a President, and a relatively higher percentage of women parliamentarians when compared to some of the other mature democracies in the past, India’s struggle with inclusivity has not eased.
• Due to systemic issues, Parliament continues to alienate women.
• The number of women representatives is still considerably small, but even more subtly, Parliament as a workspace continues to be built exclusively for men.
• Over the last few years, India has seen a growing push for gender equality.
  • The Supreme Court''s gender identification decision (National Legal Services Authority vs Union of India, 2014) has given the movement a boost.
  • Citizens have begun to affirm their gender identity by stating their personal pronouns (she/her, he/his, they/them, etc.) as a show of unity.
• However, The issue appears to have largely escaped the Legislature''s notice.

Parliament: Absence of gender parity

Inclined towards masculine power

• A closer examination of the Indian parliamentary debates reveals a worrying lack of gender-neutral vocabulary.
  • For example, after 75 years of independence, Parliament frequently refers to women in positions of leadership as Chairmen and Party men.
• In the Rajya Sabha, the Rules of Procedure continue to refer to the Vice-President of India as the ex-officio Chairman, stemming from the lack of gender-neutral language in the Constitution of India.
• The alarming degree of usage of masculine pronouns assumes a power structure biased towards men.
  • This tends to manifest itself in parliamentary debates, for instance, when a senior woman MP from Tamil Nadu was referred to as “Chairman madam” in the Lok Sabha during last year’s winter session.

Absnece of gender-neutral Acts

• In the last decade, there have hardly been any gender-neutral Acts.
• Acts have made references to women not as leaders or professionals (such as policemen), but usually as victims of crimes.
• In its current form, the Constitution supports historical preconceptions that women and transgender individuals are not capable of holding positions of power in India, such as President and Vice-President, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Governor of state, or judge.
• It is a critique of the many Union governments that did not take the initiative to modify the Constitution, rather than the Constitution itself.
• In the past, amendments have been brought about to make documents gender-neutral.
  • In 2014, under the leadership of the then Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha were made entirely gender-neutral.
  • Since then, each Lok Sabha Committee Head has been referred to as Chairperson in all documents.
  • This initiative is proof that amending legal documents to make them inclusive for all genders is an attainable goal if there is a will.

Failure to adapt to changes

• Despite certain course corrections, both Houses of Parliament and Central Ministries have failed in one common aspect.
• In a compilation of ministerial replies to questions from the 17^th Lok Sabha, so far for 75 women Parliamentarians, 84% of the answers that used salutations (sir/madam) referred to women Parliamentarians as ‘sir’.
• During the 15th Lok Sabha, when the Lok Sabha had a woman Speaker, only about 27% of the answers made this error.
• However, there is no indication of a clear reason for such lapses, either due to pure administrative errors or ignorance of the rules of address.

International Practices

• Internationally, even mature democracies that legalized universal suffrage after India, such as Canada (1960 for Aboriginal women), Australia (1962 for Indigenous women), and the United States (1965 for women of African-American descent), have now taken concrete measures toward gender-inclusive legislation and communication.
  • Canada’s Department of Justice has guidelines for using gender-neutral language in all legislation and legal documentation.
  • The Australian government has incorporated gender-neutrality in its drafting Style Manual.
  • The U.K.’s House of Commons declared in 2007 that all laws would be drafted gender-neutrally.
• Stereotypical language regarding women and transgender individuals becomes more acceptable to the rest of the population when Parliament and government agencies reinforce gender biases in their communications.
• For citizens to follow, the country''s leaders must deliver the appropriate message.
• They may and must start with a constitutional change and an overhaul of the entirely legal system.

Suggestions

• Society needs to change the social attitude toward women.
• Apart from this, concrete and effective steps need to be taken regarding women''s education, training, employment and welfare, and political participation.
• The prejudice prevailing in society also has to be overcome that women are physically weak and intellectually underdeveloped.
• The reservation system should be implemented for women in women''s politics so that women get political rights.

In the 21st century, when people of all genders are leading the world with compassion, strength, and ambitions, the Indian Parliament needs to reflect on its standing. Recognition and correction of past errors through amendments to rulebooks, laws and the Constitution are just starting points and must lead to sensitivity, equal treatment, and appreciation for the people of India, regardless of gender.