Lund University
Department of Political Science
STVK02 - Bachelor thesis
Tutor: Annica Kronsell
“Everything is because of my husband”
A Minor Field Study about Women’s
Political Participation in India
Annika Skogar
Abstract
The political participation of women is an important indicator of the degree of
gender equality in certain country. In India, which is often referred to as the
world’s largest democracy, the national parliament consists of only 11 % women.
In a vast majority of India’s 28 states the female representation in their respective
legislative assemblies is even less. However, when five states were holding state
elections in 2012, something historical occurred when more women than men
went to the ballot boxes across all the states to cast their vote. Goa, India’s
smallest state, had the highest female voting participation. Despite this, the state
election resulted in a parliament consisting of only 2 % women. The situation in
Goa raises questions about what factors that actually decide voting behaviour and
political representation, and a two month field study was carried out in Goa in
2013 in order to map out the underlying causes. The study was made with a
feminist approach by the use of theories about citizenship and ”politics of
presence”, the latter arguing that the substance of politics changes when more
women participate. The results of the study show that the notion of citizenship
still is a highly gendered concept in the Indian context. The public-private divide
results in a political sphere that belongs to men, while women lack resources to
participate. The voting behaviour did not seem to be a clear sign of changing
structures, but was rather due to political parties populistic schemes, which mostly
ostensibly favour women, as well as the politicians’ tendency to mobilise poor
women by organising self-help groups.
Key words: Political Representation, Voting behaviour, Women, India,
Citizenship
Words: 10175
Table of contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Purpose and question of issue .............................................................................. 2
1.1.1 Previous resarch and generalizability ........................................................... 3
2 Theoretical framework ............................................................................................. 4
2.1
The politics of presence ....................................................................................... 4
2.2 The notion of citizenship ..................................................................................... 6
2.2.1 Figure 1 – The Essentialist Categorization of Men and Women .................. 7
2.3
The theories applied to an Indian context ............................................................ 8
3 Women in Goa ........................................................................................................... 9
3.1.1
Figure 2: Polling Percentage in Goa State Elections 1967-2012 ................ 10
4 Method and material .............................................................................................. 11
4.1
Criticism of the sources ..................................................................................... 13
5 Result and analysis.................................................................................................. 14
5.1
Where are the women? ...................................................................................... 14
5.2
Why do Goan women vote to such a high extent?............................................. 18
5.3
Do women representatives change the politics? ................................................ 21
6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 24
7 References ................................................................................................................ 26
8 Appendix 1 – List of respondents .......................................................................... 29
9 Appendix 2 – Interview guides .............................................................................. 31
9.1
Key informants .................................................................................................. 31
9.2
NGOs, Women’s Rights Activists ..................................................................... 32
9.3
Politicians........................................................................................................... 33
1
Introduction
“Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacities. She has the right to
participate in the very minutest detail in the activities of man and she has an equal right of freedom
and liberty with him. This ought to be the natural condition of things”.
Mahatma Gandhi
These words from Mahatma Gandhi date back approximately 70 years, but the
status of women in the world’s largest democracy is still far behind the reality that
the founding father expressed a need for. This is a fact even though India’s 1952
Constitution promised “to secure to all its citizens justice: social, economic and
political” as well as “equality of status and opportunity” (Rai, 2011). India is also
one of the 173 states that have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The CEDAW provides
a framework for realizing equal opportunities for men and women in political and
public life and by ratifying it the state binds itself to follow the undertakings
stated
in
the
convention
(UN,
2009).
One indicator of the level of equality in a country can be found by examining
women’s political participation. The global average of women in parliament stood
in February 2013 at 20,5 %. In India, the situation appears to be more
discouraging, with only 11 % in the lower house and 10,6 % in the upper house of
parliament (IPU 1, 2013). It is not, however, only in more influential political
bodies where there is a shortage of women. The underrepresentation is even more
prevalent on state level. Nineteen out of 261 states in India have less than 10 %
women
in
their
State
Assemblies.
Historically, women in India have in general used their franchise to a lesser extent
as well, both on national and state level. Up to the 1990s there has been a voter
turnout
difference
on
10-20
%
(Chhibber,
2002).
However, when five states2 held elections for the State Assembly in the
beginning of 2012, something interesting happened. More women than men went
to the ballot boxes across all the states and the fact that their voting exceeded their
male counterparts was surprising to many (UN Women South Asia) (Thirani,
2012).
In Goa, it was not the first time that more women than men took the opportunity
to use their right to vote, and even if it was marginal, the same scenario occurred
1
India consists of 28 states but I have not been able to find the data for Nagaland and Tripura. Delhi has its own
constituency as well.
2
Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarkhand and Goa
1
in the 2007 state election. Goa is also one of the states in India that has the highest
rates of literacy and is considered to be one of the more liberal states in India as it
pertains to women’s rights. Consequently, a logical outcome should be that the
number of women in the state legislature would be higher than in other states in
India, not least since previous research has shown that female voters to a higher
degree than male voters cast their votes on female candidates (Wide, 2006:70).
This seems, however, not to be the case. The 2012 Goa state election resulted in
only one female, out of the 40 elected to the legislative assembly. Some theorists,
on the other hand, have argued that with the increasing voting percentage the
electoral politics of India is not gender exclusive, but quite inclusive (Rai, 2011).
The voting participation and women’s marginal representation in Goa raise
questions on what underlying factors influence voting behaviour and political
participation. With a feminist theoretical approach to this issue, I went to India in
the beginning of 2013 to seek an answer as to why the words of Mahatma Gandhi
still feel rather utopian.
1.1 Purpose and question of issue
The aim of this thesis is to seek the answer to what underlying factors determine
the representation of women in a legislative assembly. The popularly elected
bodies have a core function in a democratic state and, irrespective of reason; it is a
failure in the name of democracy if men and women do not participate to the same
extent (Wide, 2006:17). With the state elections held in India during 2012 as a
starting point, I will therefore seek an answer to my question of issue:
Why are Indian women keen to vote but yet highly underrepresented in terms of
running for a seat in the legislative bodies?
Since this question is very broad and India consists of a large and diverse
population, I decided to limit my study to Goa as they seemed to have most
favourable conditions for a high participation. The question has therefore been
narrowed down and divided into three separate questions:
1. Why are there so few women in the state legislature of Goa?
2. Why have the women in the state of Goa begun to increase their voting?
3. Does an increase of female representatives change the substance of politics?
2
1.1.1 Previous resarch and generalizability
Research investigating women’s impediments in relation to political participation
has been conducted before. Jessika Wide argues in her 2006 dissertation on
women’s political representation that there are three crucial factors that are
decisive for the number of women in politics: institutions (electoral systems etc.),
structures (economic, gender roles etc.) and actors (political parties, women’s
organisations) (Wide, 2006:325). She points out that studies made on women’s
political representation mainly focus on Western democracies; studies made on
poor and developing countries3 are relatively scarce. Furthermore, her research
points out that the explanatory factors used for industrialised countries do not
apply on the developing world (Wide, 2006:7). Most of the research on India in
this area has investigated the quota system on the local level (the panchayat level)
and what impact the quotas have had on women’s empowerment. By examining
the voting pattern as well as the hindrances, new conclusions can be drawn in this
field. Time is always a factor to take into consideration as well; previous research
may be deemed outdated.
The research question is theoretically interesting as well as it can be viewed as
a contribution to the incessant debate about global aid as a big share of it today
goes to the promotion of democracy and women’s empowerment. It is important
to stress that it is problematic to view women as one specific social group with a
collective identity, as it is done in this study. The patriarchal structures in today’s
society, with a clear gender division, make it however relevant. This does not
mean that I do not recognize the infinite variation of human beings in the world
who identify themselves as women.
Goa is used as a case to illuminate a broader problem, a case study is always
risking to lack in its external validity which means that it might be hard to
generilize the result and apply it to a bigger population (Esaiasson 2007:64). It is
important to be aware of the problem with generalizability but the female
underrepresentation is still a global problem and conclusions that can be drawn
from the case of Goa need to be taken into serious considerations since the
situation is the same in other parts of India as well as in many other parts of the
world.
3
Even though India is the country in with the rapidest economic development in the world, one third of all its
citizens is still living in poverty (Landguiden 1)
3
2
Theoretical framework
The theoretical starting point of this thesis will have its roots in feminist theory.
There is a wide range of different versions of feminism, but according to the
feminist scholar Jane Freedman they all share the belief that women as a group are
subordinated to men as a group in society (2003:7). Feminist theory is chosen
because the number of women in the world’s parliaments is on such a low level
that it seems unlikely that this is a coincidence rather than a result of a structure in
society that discourages women to take part in formal politics. With feminism as
the point of departure, I will apply two different theories: Anne Phillips “politics
of presence”, and the theory of gendered citizenship. The feminist scholar Ruth
Lister’s writings will be the primary source in the section about citizenship, and
according to her citizenship provides “an invaluable strategic theoretical concept
on the analysis of women’s subordination” (Lister, 2003:195). The two theories
complement each other in order to seek an answer to whether or not the increased
female voting ratio in Goa is a sign of a more inclusive notion of citizenship
where you, independent of sex, feel encouraged to take part in public life. The
theory about the politics of presence will also be applied to investigate if the
increased female voting ratio has an impact on the actual policy outcomes, i.e if
increased voting participation by a certain group can change the policies.
2.1 The politics of presence
Some might question if the sex of politicians is of any interest at all since India is
a representative democracy, which means that the elected should represent a
certain ideology rather than the social group they originate from. Feminist
researcher Anne Phillips argues, by contrast, that if a certain social group is the
majority, their opinions will be overrepresented (Phillips, 2000:32). Nevertheless,
it is also possible to question whether women can be seen as a group with separate
interests and needs compared to men. It is obvious that other factors such as class
and ethnicity might be more decisive in some issues. Phillips does, however, point
out some areas where it is conceivable to see that women have special interests,
4
such as pregnancy and exposure to violence and sexual harassment by men4
(2000:86). Moreover, women all around the world have the main responsibility
for the children and the household. This does not imply that they all share a
common interest regarding these kinds of issues but it is likely that they will
prioritize
these
issues
in
another
way
compared
to
men.
Previous research has shown that this is a correct anticipation: an increase of
women in decision making bodies usually leads to different policy outcomes
compared to decisions taken only by men (IPU 2). However, in order to have an
impact on the decisions there needs to be a critical mass, which means that the
numerical representation of women needs to exceed a certain number. How big
the number of women needs to be is a point of contention, but the UN
Commission on the Status of Women has suggested 30 % as a critical threshold
(Lister,
2003:158).
The Scandinavian countries are examples of how policies have changed since
women started to be a substantial part of the political representation in the 1990s.
The political parties are now embracing questions that traditionally have been
considered “women’s issues”, such as family issues and social policies, to a
higher extent (Delvin – Elgie, 2008). Another example is Rwanda that has the
highest number of female representative in the world. Since the 2008 election they
have 56,3 % women in their Parliament and studies indicate that gender issues
have started to take a prominent role on the agenda. During the last years, many
laws of great significance to women have been passed, such as laws on genderbased violence and on rights for pregnant and breast-feeding mothers in the
workplace (Delvin – Elgie, 2008).
There are also arguments to increase the number of women that say this shift
would change the shape of the politics. It is said that women are less competitive,
that they listen more to what others have to say and take decisions based on a
higher morality compared to men (Phillips, 2000:94). According to feminist
theory, there is a problem with these arguments because they emphasize women’s
traditional role as mother too strongly and indicate that the voices of a certain
group of citizens are superior and worth more attention than others (ibid).
Phillips’ last argument for a more equal representation of the people in politics
is that it has a symbolic value. Regardless of whether or not the policy outcomes
change, a representation that mirrors the population gives the decisions more
legitimacy because people feel that they are represented by someone who is
similar to themselves (Phillips, 2000:99).
4
1/3 of all women in the world will be beaten or raped during her lifetime (One Billion Rising, 2013)
5
2.2 The notion of citizenship
Political representation is a fundamental feminist concern since the claims that
women are making for their representation, are claims for their citizenship
(Lovenduski 2005:1). The number of women in the electoral process is argued to
be a strong indicator of the maturity of a country’s democracy as well as being a
sign of how much liberty and space women are given in the democratic
framework (Rai, 2011). Feminist theory means that within nation-states different
groups enjoy varying degrees of substantive citizenship (Lister, 2003:44). The
Indian constitution promises equal rights to all of its citizens; however, it is the
nature of society that ultimately determines to what extent these rights are
possible to be exercised for different groups (Chari, 2009).
The concept of citizenship has its roots in the ancient Greek political culture
and has been a central feature of Western political thinking ever since (Lister,
2003:1). It is, however, hard to give a simple definition of citizenship because the
concept is, as Lister argues, “contested at every level from its very meaning to its
political application” (2003:3). In everyday language, being a citizen usually
refers being a member of a nation-state and with that having certain rights and
responsibilities, such as voting and obedience to the law (Yuval-Davis –
Werbner, 2005:1). There are three broad traditions behind the current views on
citizenship: the liberal, the communitarian and the civic republican (Monro,
2005:148).
In the liberal tradition, citizenship involves the protection of individual
liberties by the state. Citizens are free to promote their own self-interest as long as
it does not interfere with someone else’s freedom (Assister, 2005:41). Feminist
theorists have been illuminating how women globally have been more or less
excluded from the rights and status a citizen is supposed to inherit. Critics of the
liberal tradition argue that the individual who inherits the rights of a citizen is
assumed to be male, heterosexual and able-bodied (ibid.). The concept of
citizenship that in theory is neutral is therefore highly gendered.
In the communitarian tradition, citizenship means belonging to a community,
working for the good of the community and engaging in public life (Assister,
2005:44). The citizens are dependent on each other and should discuss actively
what differences need to be taken into account – gender has, however, usually not
been one of them (ibid.).
Civic republicanism emerged in ancient Greece and was based on the belief
that individuals were equal and that they all needed to take part in politics and
other duties of citizenship. Not everyone was treated equally though; Greek
women were placed outside citizenship’s boundaries together with the slaves.
This is in line with how women historically always have been standing outside
civil society, their only connection to it through a role of dependence and
subordination to men (Lister, 2003:67).
6
Why have women been excluded from their citizenship rights such as taking
part in public life and politics? Most commonly, the reasons are found in an
essentialist categorization on what different qualities and capacities men and
women inherit and socialized to fit into. Figure 1 lists some of the most common
characteristics that are ascribed to men and women.
2.2.1 Figure 1 – The Essentialist Categorization of Men and Women
Men:
Rational
Independent
Active
Heroic
Strong
Abstract
Mind
Women:
Irrational
Emotional
Dependent
Passive
Weak
Particular
Rooted in nature
Source:Warren – Cady, 1996:3
The dichotomy between men and women has resulted in what is known in
feminist theory as the public-private divide. The qualities that are ascribed to
women and femininity are all incompatible with the exercise of citizenship in the
public arena (Lister, 2003:69). The public arena is populated by male citizens who
make decision about laws and current affairs, while women belong to the private
sphere of household and family, which is considered to be non-political. It has
therefore been one of the main struggles within feminism to break this divide by
arguing that “the personal is political” (Rajan, 2003:21).
The classical notion of citizenship is narrow in its recognition of what being
involved in politics actually means. Women are in general more involved in grass
root activism and social movements, but this involvement is not considered to be a
political action, because it is not formal politics (Yuval-Davis – Werbner,
2005:26). Feminist scholars argue therefore that the definition of political
participation needs to be widened. This has to be done in combination with a more
inclusive structure of formal political structure that would allow more informal
modes of participation (Lister, 2003:155).
7
2.3 The theories applied to an Indian context
It is important to note that the theories about citizenship all originate from a
Western tradition of thinking (Monro, 2005:148). Citizenship is ultimately an
individualizing concept and the individual has historically always been
subordinated to the group in the Indian culture.
Just as in many other cultures, women have held a subordinated role at an early
stage in history. In ancient India, it was said that a wife should be deprived from
all her freedom and privileges and worship her husband (Devi, 1999:10). Women
in India did not gain any substantial freedom until the struggle for independence
from the British. In the 1950s, women received the right to get divorced and the
right to inheritance (Devi, 1999:182). In newly independent India, women gained
the right to vote at the same time as men, which is typical for post-colonial
societies (Lister, 2003:68). The Indian constitution from 1952 states that
everyone, including women, should ensure equality of status and opportunity.
Rajan argues, however, that even though women’s rights as equal citizens are
clearly stated, they are in great opposition to the reality in which women face
resistance and opposition from strong patriarchal structures (Rajan, 2003:17).
In this study I want to investigate if the increasing voting ratio in Goa is an
indicator of women’s steps towards breaking the patriarchal structures of
citizenship and changing women’s role from passive to active citizens in the
political sphere. If women in Goa are acting as active citizens, it is anticipated that
they would cast their vote on political candidates that take their considerations
into higher account.
This investigation will also lead to whether an increased female voting ratio
has made the political parties more willing to focus on areas that traditionally are
considered to be of more interest to women. Anne Phillips’ arguments about
women’s impact on the policy outcomes are closely linked to the question of
specific quotas for women in decision-making bodies. For many years, there has
been an ongoing debate in India about passing a reservation bill which would lead
to a 33 % quota for women at all levels of governance, i.e. national, state and local
levels, but this is not yet legislated (Sunny, 2012). The 73rd and 74th constitutional
amendments from 1993 do, however, guarantee a 33 % reservation for women to
the village councils (the Panchayati Raj).
In this study, Anne Phillips’ theory will be applied to the situation in Goa.
Does the underrepresentation of women in the state legislature have any impact on
the policy outcomes? Do the female politicians consider themselves to be
representatives for the interests of women in general?
8
3
Women in Goa
In this section a short general view is given on how women’s situation have been
in Goa historically. In contrast to the rest of India, the British have never ruled
Goa. The Portuguese instead colonized the state in the early 1500s and before that
point the situation for the Goan women was the same as for their counterparts in
the rest of India (Salgaonkar, 2000:29). The Portuguese ruled Goa for almost 450
years, while the British ruled India for barely 200 years. The Portuguese impact
on Goa in political and socio-cultural terms was also much deeper, as compared to
the British influence on the parts of India that they governed.
Even though the Portuguese rule was imposed on the people in a tyrannical
manner, it later on turned out that it had a positive impact on the status of women
in the state. The Portuguese banned the practice of Sati5 around 1510, while it
was lawful in the British territories until 1828 (Nationalencyklopedien 1)
(Salgaonkar, 2000:30). The Portuguese did also impose laws that abolished
polygamy and laws that gave women right to inheritance. In addition, the Goans
started to modify their own traditions and customs during the 1800s, which
introduced new values and beliefs as well as it lead to a “Westernization” of the
elite (Salgaonkar, 2000:33). The transformation resulted in daughters being sent to
school to a higher extent, marriages were being delayed by few years and that
women were starting to be welcomed to formal social events (ibid).
During the liberation struggle in the early 1960s, the women of Goa were very
vocal and active, and the state is still renowned for having women who are very
active in social movements (Salgaonkar, 2000:26). The women’s movement in
Goa consists of a sizeable number of women’s NGOs. The most influential
advocacy group is Baliancho Saad – a women’s collective that has been active in
Goa since 1986. They are organized around the principles of no hierarchies and
total independence from external actors. The collective are working with a wide
range of issues, considering “all kinds of issues are women’s issues” (A3).
Women in Goa tend to marry at an older age compared to other parts of
India, which enables them to continue to higher education and apply for jobs
(Salgaonkar, 2000:19). At University of Goa, which is the only university in Goa,
59 % of the students are female. The high number of female students, should
however not be taken only as a sign of how liberated women are in Goa: allowing
daughters to attend university is often a strategy to raise her status on the wedding
5
The tradition saying that a widow should immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.
9
market (Skogar, 2013). Salgaonkar argues that, in spite of all rhetoric and
different laws, which are supposed to strengthen the right of women, there
remains a glaring difference between rhetoric and reality (2000:12). Female
feticide is common Goa and the child sex ratio is 920 girls per 1000 boys (Times
of India, 2012-03-26).
Compared to the rest of India, women have been keen voters ever since the
first election after the independence from the Portuguese (see Figure 2). Women
and men have exercised their franchise more or less to the same extent but in the
state election in 2012, 6 % more women went to the ballot boxes compared to
their male counterparts.
3.1.1 Figure 2: Polling Percentage in Goa State Elections 1967-2012
Source: Election Commission of India
10
4
Method and material
The methodological approach to the research question of this study is qualitative,
as the aim is to seek an actual answer to the reasons behind high voting turnout
and low representation, rather than describing them. Also, the choice to use
interviews makes it possible to explore what is behind the statistics and these
interviews serve as a complement to previous research (Esaiasson, 2003:284). The
research question is rather complex since it deals with people’s behavior and that
makes interviews an appropriate methodological approach as well (Esaiasson,
2003:283).
In order to collect material for this thesis, fourteen interviews and one
workshop were carried out in India during January and February in 2013. In
complement to the interviews, two conferences were visited as well. The
conferences were arranged by the Goa Women’s Commission respectively Goa
University, and both of them brought up many aspects about the low number of
female political representation in Goa. The people who were interviewed had a
wide range of different perspectives and backgrounds and they were mainly found
based on a snowball selection. The method of snowball selection often appeared
to be the only way to actually find respondents central to the research question,
since it was very difficult to get hold of telephone numbers and people seldom
replied to e-mails. The interviews and the workshop have been divided into three
different groups: informants, politicians and women’s activists.
The first group consists of six people who all were involved in politics on a
daily basis. Four of them had at some point been running for an election. One of
them had not been running for election in Goa but in the city of Pune, in the
neighboring state of Marahastra. She was, however, able to contribute to the
material with the experience of being a politician with the background as a social
activist. There is only one female minister in Goa and that is the reason as to why
she is the only one interviewed from the government. There is one more woman
in the state legislature (the Vidhan Shaba) but even though several phone calls and
efforts were made to get an interview with her, the efforts to reach her were
unsuccessful.
The second group consists of women’s activist and journalists focusing on
gender issues. They contributed with a broader perspective on the political
11
situation and the status of women in Goa. All of them more or less looked up on
society from a feminist perspective.
The third group had not themselves been involved either in politics or in the
social movement. Due to their academic background or profession, they were
interviewed because of their expertise in the field. In this section, I have also
placed the workshop I gave together with about 15 Masters’ students in political
science at Goa University. Among those interviewed in this group, there was one
who did not live in Goa but in the neighboring state of Karnataka. She contributed
with an outside perspective women’s situation in Goa and had many years of
experience working with self-help groups6. She provided valuable information
about how political parties mobilize and use self-help groups in order to gain
votes.
The setup of the interviews followed a relatively low level of standardization.
The interviews were adjusted to the situation and the questions did not follow any
strict order. The low level of standardization gave many opportunities to ask
attendant questions but in order to keep the interviewed focused, and to enhance
the intersubjectivity, an interview guide was used (see appendix 2). The length of
the interviews varied from 30 minutes to 120 minutes, because some respondents
were more talkative than others. Respondents from the same group were not asked
identical questions, but overall they covered the same areas.
While referring to the interviews in the following sections, a code will be
used for their names. All respondents interviewed have been given a letter
depending on which group they belong to (P=politican, A=women’s activist,
I=informant) as well as a number. Refer to appendix 1 for full names and
professions of the respondents.
The material was analyzed through a method called bricolage, which means
that different methods were combined in order to find the core in the material
(Kvale, 2009:251). For example, I categorized different views that were brought
up, as the view on female politicians. Also, counting the number of the same
aspects mentioned was used as a method to map out patterns and delimit the
material. The different methods were used to create conceptual and theoretical
contexts (Kvale, 2009:252).
To the extent it has been possible, the respondents’ answers have been
analyzed together with previous research and data. The section about poor versus
rich people’s voting behavior is, however, based solely on the answers from the
respondents. It would have been desirable to complement the answers with
statistics but nothing of this kind has been available. The fact that almost all
respondents brought up the same statements about the voting behavior in Goa
gives them a certain level of credibility.
6
Self-help groups are very common in India and the idea behind it is to empower poor women through giving
them micro-loans.
12
4.1 Criticism of the sources
Only two of the people interviewed have been male. The initial intention was
from the beginning to have more men involved which should have made me able
to compare if their opinions and experiences differed from the female. Due to the
limited time frame it did, however, make more sense to concentrate on female
politicians and activists since they all had the personal experience of being a
women in the public sphere.
The fact that I was from a culturally different context in relation to the ones
who were interviewed probably has had an impact on the material. Even though
all interviews were carried out in English, it could sometimes be challenging to
grasp all different nuances of the Indian English, and in some cases the
interviewed had some problems getting to the essence of my questions. Being
interviewed by me, a young European woman might have influenced the answers
that were given. Many of the respondents probably realized that the
underrepresentation is considered a problem due to my interest in the question and
therefore adjusted their answers. The use of interviews might as well result in
certain flaws as it pertains to the intersubjectivity since people’s perceptions and
feelings could change over time. Furthermore, some of the political party
representatives seemed to have a tendency to exaggerate the work they were doing
to involve more women in the politics, and this was of course something that was
taken into account when evaluating the material.
In all interviews, despite two of the interviews and the workshop, a recorder
was used. Even though notes were taken during the occasions where the recorder
was not available they, are not as detailed as the transcriptions. Many interviews
were carried out in a surrounding of much noise and traffic, which sometimes
made it difficult to hear the exact wording. Overall, however, the most important
points have been registered since all recordings were complemented with notes
throughout the interview.
13
5
Result and analysis
In this chapter the empirical findings are presented and analyzed through the
theories about gendered citizenship and politics of presence. The sections are
divided into three parts: reasons for women’s underrepresentation, voting
behavior and at last, women’s possible impact on the political substance.
5.1 Where are the women?
A simple question and a complicated answer – that is what to expect when you
ask questions about the participation gap between men and women (Burns et al,
2001:39). Reasons for this could be found in the fact that much of the difference
has its roots in the structures in a society, which have a decisive effect on
women’s chances of being active citizens. Structures have an indirect effect on
women’s representation through institutions and actors (Wide, 2006:19).
All respondents brought up financial resources as a crucial aspect of political
life in India. Women, simply do not have the money that is needed for running a
campaign in order to get elected (P1, P2, P3, A2). India does not have any system
of state funding of parties for electoral or general purpose, and parties usually rely
on black money to fund their campaigns. Consequently, there is a shortage of
legal sources to get hold of in order to have a chance to win (Rajeev Gowda –
Sridharan, 2012). Women’s lack of financial resources is closely connected to the
gendered structure of the family. In general, it is the man who has the ultimate
authority to decide what the family’s finances should be spent on, as he generally
is viewed as the breadwinner, and the rational actor who can handle the money in
the best way (Burns et al, 2001:37). A contributing factor to this situation is the
fact that India to a large extent is a society with a traditional economic structure,
which means that women are expected to work at home and be responsible for the
domestic work, as well as for children and old family members. Wide argues in
her dissertation that countries with a modern economic structure, i.e. countries
with a high degree of industrialization, provides greater opportunities for women
to construct their citizenship. The industrialization generates a reduced focus on
women as mothers and caretakers when the production shift from family based to
large-scale (2006:23).
Financial resources were also argued to be a main reason as to why parties
generally are keener to let a man, rather than a woman, run for an election. One of
14
the respondents explained: “If the women want to spend money she needs to ask
her husband, but the man can use and spend the family’s money as he wants to.
He can lend, borrow and spend” (P5). The substantial amount of capital, as well
as the network of contacts you need to receive contributions, is simply much
easier to get hold of if you are a man, or in other words: a person who is
legitimated as a citizen.
Several times the respondents brought up the political parties reluctance to
give nominations to female party members in the elections. Reasons for this
could be found in a general skepticism towards women’s competence as political
actors, which has its roots in the essentialist categorization of female and male
characteristics. These characteristics were listed in Figure 1 in the theory chapter.
In a traditional patriarchal society where men are seen as the political actors,
women are instead looked upon as weak, passive and dependent, and it is
“unnatural” for women to take leading positions. Many women that are active in a
political party are therefore used for doing the non-political work in their parties
since that, just as Lister argues, is more in line with what is suitable for women to
do to fit into the gendered notion of citizenship (P5)(I4). The Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), which is the biggest party in Goa, did not give a single ticket to a
woman in the 2012 election, and according to the BJP president, that was because
“We [the BJP] needed capacity to win. We wanted to form government in Goa.”
(P6). Women do not have the same chance to compete, something the president of
the women’s wing of the BJP experienced. She had for many years shown an
interest to get a ticket to run for elections. However, it was not until two weeks
before the state elections 2007 that the party offered her a ticket, in a constituency
she never been active in before:
“All political parties talk on one thing and then they don’t react on it. If any party would want
to bring women into politics for real they should at least bring her up 2 years, or at least project her
as a candidate 6 months before the elections” (P4).
By looking at previous research it is possible to conclude that this woman’s
experience is usual in countries all over the world. The political parties want to
maximize their share of votes and that makes them reluctant to nominate
candidates that are viewed as “vote losers”, such as women and ethnic minorities
(Wide, 2006:29). India has an electoral system based on majority
representation and every state is divided into single member-constituencies.
Goa has 40 constituencies and, accordingly, 40 seats in their legislative assembly.
Research on the majority representation system shows that women are more likely
to get nominated to constituencies where their political party does not have a
chance to win anyway (Wide, 2006:30). This strategy makes it possible for the
political parties to show that they have nominated women, at the same time as
they do not risk to lose votes. Previous research has also shown that the number of
women in the legislative assemblies is higher in countries with a proportional
15
representation system compared to countries with the majority election system 7.
The candidates’ personal characteristics are of secondary importance in a
proportional representation system. Instead, the focal point is the attempt to
appeal as many voters as possible, which favors female candidates (Wide,
2006:36).
These assumptions are connected to the third theme that was presented several
times as a motive as to why there is a scarce number of women to be found in the
state legislature, which could be summarized with a quote from one of the
respondents: “People think that politics is a man’s world and that women should
not be there to lead us” (I4). Several times the respondents referred to this
essentialist norm, where men by nature are seen as better suited for decisionmaking positions The only woman in the Goan government did not want to call
herself a politician, and she had never felt the slightest wish of being a politician
because she considered the political world to be harsh and too competitive (P3).
The only reason behind her decision to get involved with politics was her wish to
fulfill the wishes and dreams of her deceased husband (P3). As the head of the
Environment and Forest departments she felt that she faced difficulties in her
attempts to be taken seriously and that it often was difficult to be listened to. The
Minister’s view on the political climate does to a large extent resemble to
previously mentioned research by Delvin and Elegie on Rwanda: that the climate
in the parliament was much more harsh and unwelcoming when few women were
present. As mentioned in previous sections, the explanation for this could be
found in the socialization process where women, in order to fit into their gender
role, learn to develop their social skills of caring and listening to a higher extent
than their male counterparts (Phillips, 2000:94).
Common to almost all women in this study who had gained some degree of
political power or influence was that they all considered it being thanks to their
husbands (I4, A1, P3, P5):
“I have always said that all my success is because of my husband. He has really encouraged
me and in the Indian society that is very important because if the husband feel that you are
neglecting the home and you are not doing your wifely duties, then it can be very difficult .” (P5).
This is, once again, a recurring explanation of how the family division of
labor affects women’s chances to involve in public life. A woman, in her role as a
wife, is always dependent on her husband’s approval since the public-private
divide states that the household should be the responsibility of the wife. The
dichotomy that dictates what is suitable for a woman is highly constraining and
“politics are not compatible with household responsibilities because they take too
much time” (P1). According to Lister, “time is a highly gendered commodity that
impacts on and is mediated by the public-private divide” (2003:132). Domestic
work has no clear end while public work has a clear start and end. Being an active
7
Almost 90 % of the countries that 1997 did not have a single woman in their national parliaments used the
majority election system (Europaparlamentet, 1997).
16
citizen who takes part in the public life is an independent decision for a man while
a woman needs an approval from the whole family before any further involvement
is possible.
Some of the respondents brought up the opinion that women are less interested
in politics since they do not consider it to be neither their business, nor that it is
important (A3). This is clearly a result of the socialization where political
activity is considered to belong to the male sphere of interests, and the Indian
women simply do not consider being in politics as necessarily advantageous
(Chhibber, 2002). It is also clear that those of the respondents who actively
participate in politics and public life are those who have been able to negotiate
their space within the household and either do not have children or have someone
to look after them. Chhibber (2002) argues that “women must have an existence
autonomous of the household” to be able to be active citizens, a statement which
seems to be accurate in Goa.
The interviewed women who were part of the feminist movement in Goa
expressed a will to actively stay out of the formal politics in the state because
they consider it to be too corrupt and patriarchal (I1). Several of them shared a
belief that the definition of politics was too narrow and if one really wants a
change it is necessary to “do politics” outside the formal structures. The activism
was, however, constantly facing resistance from politicians who were trying to tell
them to give up whatever struggle they were fighting (A1). The claims that
Baliancho Saad8, and other women’s collective groups are striving for women’s
rights always need to be made on two levels. They need to start with asserting
their right to make any claim at all because of the false dichotomy between private
and public, which has put women in a corner outside the sphere of power and
decision. At the same time, they need to make the claim for the change they want
to occur – such as stronger laws against domestic violence. Just as Sapra and
Ackerley argue, the citizenship claims are at the foundation of all social activism,
and even though citizenship in theory is a universal category, it here becomes
obvious that reality tells different (Sapra – Ackerly, 2006). Moreover, the
traditional notion of citizenship is a narrow and exclusionary concept as it pertains
to deciding what politics actually are and how it should be practiced (Lister,
1997:145). Informal politics, such as being part of a social movement was
considered to be a softer and more welcoming option for women compared to
getting involved in a political party (A2)(I2). The fact that women are involved
with informal politics to a larger degree than men is reflected all over the world. It
is, however, also a fact that men have a tendency to take over the activism when
paid employment or formal management emerge, as well as when a protest
campaign shifts from local to national level (Lister, 2003:146). These changes are,
interestingly, all indicators of informal politics turning into a more formalized set-
8
The Goan women’s collective which was mentioned in chapter 3.
17
up of decision making, and with that: when the female sphere turns into the male
one. Women who are active in social movements are however all part of the
process of breaking down the private-public divide since they are taking an active
role in the community and make claims for being part of the decision making.
The last theme that was brought up several times as an explanation as to why
there are no women in the state legislature was said to be found in the size and
heritage of Goa, even though the state is considered to be very liberal compared
to the rest of India:
“It is typical for Goans to say that the rest of India is so primitive with women, that they
don’t have them separately on the buses and so on. But this is only external; internal it’s
worse because of its smallness and patriarchal structure. As a women it is really hard to
break free”. (A2)
Goa did not gain independence until 1961, compared to the rest of India that has
been independent since 1947 (A4). People who are 50 years old and above have
not even formally possessed the rights of a free citizen in all of their lives. It is
also likely that the non-democratic principles of the colonized power are more
evident in Goa since they gained independence at a later stage. Goa is
geographically the smallest state in India and the small size of the cities and
communities makes it more challenging to break free from traditions and
patriarchal structures (A2). In addition, Goa has a relatively prosperous population
and has, for example, no real slum areas (P5). It is usually not a necessity for the
women to work outside their homes and, consequently, they are kept out of public
life. According to one of the respondents, poor women are sometimes more
empowered since they make their own money and have realized that they are able
to stand on their own feet (A4). This statement does once again show the crucial
importance of financial resources in order to gain a feeling of empowerment and
independence. Ruth Lister is following the same line and argues that paid
employment is a key to citizenship. Even though there is no causality found
between the number of women in the workforce and the political participation,
employment outside the home usually results in an increased self-esteem and
awareness which encourage further social participation (Wide, 2006:25) (Lister,
2003:138).
5.2 Why do Goan women vote to such a high extent?
In this section the most frequently explained reasons for women’s high voting turn
out in the 2012 state election will be discussed. The respondents answers focused
chiefly on corruption in the political system, which exploits poor people, as well
as schemes that were said to favour women in the state.
18
There is a broad agreement among researchers in the field of political
participation that a major cause for using the rights you have as a citizen, such as
voting and being part of the public debate, has its based in education (Mayer,
2011). The researchers argue that this is because education generally leads to a
development of civic and cognitive skills and a cultivation of political interest. As
an educated person it is also said to be easier to research and evaluate political
issues, which will lead to a higher degree of participation (Berinsky – Lenz,
2011). Even though the level of education did not seem to be a decisive factor
correlating to voting behavior in Goa, it is reasonable to argue that more women
with university degrees will have an impact in the long run. Maslak and Singhal
(2008) argue in their study that university studies not only delay marriage, they
also reinforce a life style where a woman is seen as an independent individual
who is able to make her own decisions and to have an own career. At the same
time, the household responsibilities are very rooted in traditional societies, which
creates a conflict between being the modern and the traditional women (Maslak –
Singhal, 2008). The high education level, and the fact that about 87.5 % of the
population of Goa is literate (Population Census, 2011) should therefore be one of
the explanations as to why women in Goa vote to such a high extent compared to
the rest of India. Furthermore, at the University of Goa, which is the only
university in the state, 72 % of the students are female (Skogar, 2013). The
explanation seems, however, to be much more complex than that. According to
Alitho Siquera, professor in sociology at Goa University, the decision to let a
daughter attend the university often has its roots in a wish from the parents to
increase the daughter’s status on the marriage market. Many female students end
up as housewives, without much involvement in public life, despite of their
education (Skogar, 2013). This statement is supported by experience from an
independent politician, who during her election campaign in the city of Pune,
visited 8 000 people:
“If you go to semi-educated people9 they will have everything that is required for
voting and they will know all about the candidates and where they are supposed to go
and vote. Then if you go to highly educated people’s home who has computers and
everything they will ask you ‘When is the election?’, ‘Are we supposed to vote?’. (P2)
An explanation for this situation could probably be found in the fact that
politicians, and the political parties, generally are viewed upon with great distrust.
Politics in India is permeating by corruption and the newspapers are daily
reporting about scandals of corruption (P5, P2, I4). One of the respondents
admitted that she never voted on elections since she did not consider any of the
alternatives to deserve her vote (I4). Overall, there is a political hopelessness in
India and the middle class can buy their way to good health care and education,
which means that they do not need to care about the politicians promises as well
9 Semi-educated = literate and with some years in school
19
as it contributes to an uphold of the system. A high level of corruption results in a
society with a low level of social trust. Even if many people want to be fair and
honest politicians, a major challenge is to compete when the Indian society shows
a considerable inconsistency in terms of honesty. Consequently, there is a
situation where everyone is using corruption as a mean to reach political goals
(Rothstein – Ek, 2006). The ones who are victimized the most by corruption are
poor people, who have to rely on schemes and initiatives from the state. Many
politicians in Goa organize self-help groups in order to gain votes, and according
to the respondents, this was one of the main reasons for the high female voting
turnout in 2012 (A1, A3, P5). Self-help groups are very common in India and the
idea behind them is to empower women through village-based groups that receive
micro-loans. The political parties organize and form self-help groups for vote
catching before elections, and many of the respondents argued that the interest to
empower and help these women disappeared the day after the election. Using selfhelp groups facilitates the forming of a mob-mentality that creates an atmosphere
of “all must go”, which is a very efficient way to effortlessly win a substantive
share of votes.
In connection with the state election 2012, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
also introduced two big schemes that were, according to the BJP, aiming to favor
the situation for women in Goa. The first one was called the Ladli Lakshmi
scheme and was marketed as tool to prevent female feticide, which is common all
over India. In order to curb families’ unwillingness to raise daughters, this scheme
promised to give 100 00010 rupees to every family with a newborn daughter. The
money should be saved to the day of the daughter’s marriage since the bride’s
family is, according to the tradition of dowry, expected to pay for the wedding as
well as giving some kind of financial contribution to the groom’s family in
connection to the wedding (Zeenews, 2012-07-06). The practice of dowry is
widely common in India, even though it has been unlawful since the Dowry
Prohibition Act of 1961 (Syed, 2012).
The second scheme that the Bharatiya Janata Party introduced closely prior to
the election was the Griha Aadhar scheme, which was aiming to give financial
support to the housewives of the states in a time of rising food prices and living
costs. The women who fulfil the prerequisites11 will get a monthly contribution of
1 000 rupees (Times of India, 2012-10-02).
These two schemes were, according to the respondents, decisive factors behind
the high female voting turnout 2012 and they fit well into the context of gendered
citizenship. The Ladli Lakshmi scheme legitimates an unlawful tradition by
supporting the bride’s family with financial resources. The scheme restrain the
possibilities to stop the practice, and the idea that a son is much more valuable
10 To be compared with the per capita income for Indians which 2010-2011 stood at50 000 rupees (The Times of India, 2012-02-01)
11 To fulfill the prerequistes the women need to be married, have been a resident of Goa for the past 15 years and have a gross income that along with her
husband does not exceed 300 000 rupees.
20
than a daughter will continue, not least as his family now can expect to be given
100 000 rupees the day he is getting married. The second scheme, the Griha
Aadhar, is only given to women who are housewives, something that is highly
applicable to the idea of a public-private divide where the women belong to the
sphere of the household. It is interesting that the support is given only to
housewives and not unmarried women with children, which might be in even
bigger need of financial support. The money is not aiming to change the situation
for the housewives in any distinct way and will only cover some of the rising food
prices. It is possible to conclude that the increased number of female voters has
not lead to policies and strategies that in a genuine way try to give women more
rights and space in public life.
5.3 Do women representatives change the politics?
“When a women comes to you and explains her problems with domestic violence or her
problems to make a living, you are able to emphasize with her more and understand her
better than men do” (P5).
It is difficult to predict what actually should happen if the number of women
increased in the state government of Goa. All female politicians that were
interviewed in this study were, however, insisted on the fact that women are
needed in the government to better cover issues that are affecting women in
another ways compared to how they affect men (A2, P4, P2, A5, P1, P3). Women
were, according to them, keener to prioritize everyday issues such as roads, safety
for children and water supply (P2). Two of the interviewed politicians expressed
that they were in politics only for increasing the rights for women, and they did
not believe that any man was there for the same cause (P1, P5).
The statements made by all the respondents are truly connected to the
differentiated universalism. The idea behind the notion of citizenship is that all
citizens are equal and enjoy the same rights and freedoms, but just as the
respondents argue, women have different experiences and chances compared to
men. Ruth Lister, and other feminist scholars, call this differentiated citizenship
and argue that instead of denying diversity and difference in a society, it is
important to acknowledge it (Sapra – Ackerly, 2006). Acknowledging social
activism as politics, as well as an increased number of women in the legislative
assembly would probably change both the substance of politics and citizenship as
21
a concept. When women introduce experiences to the core of the decisionmaking, it is likely that the private public divide will become less rigid. This is the
case in many other countries, such as Rwanda, which has passed many laws of big
importance to women’s situation during the last years when the number of female
members of the legislative assembly has increased significantly.
An increased number of women in politics do not necessarily lead to a change
in the political substance. The police force of Goa has recently initiated a
campaign to encourage more women to become police officers, as a strategy to
improve the work with solving issues of rape and domestic violence against
women (Goa Express, 2013-02-02). However, female police officers have not
shown any particular interest in crimes against women but instead shown much
more interest in working with cases of murder and drugs, areas which traditionally
are considered to be typically masculine (A2). Women’s reluctance to deal with
typically feminine issues might be an expression of their will to align themselves
from their traditional status as second-class citizens (Lister, 2003:156). A
patriarchal society is structured around a value-dualism that, in public life,
generally value characteristics associated with masculinity (strength, heroism,
independence etc.) higher than characteristics considered feminine (weakness,
emotions, dependence etc.) (Warren – Cady, 1996:3). In order to gain respect as a
female politician or police woman, they might therefore choose to not deal with
issues that are considered feminine. It might of course be the case that a female
politician, even though she is female, does not have any particular interest in this
kind of issues. Lister argues, however, that even women sympathetic to feminism
choose to avoid “women’s issues” because they usually are seen as the second
division of politics, something that one of the respondents also witnessed about
(A1). As mentioned in the theory section about politics of presence, the numerical
representation of women needs to exceed a certain number to overcome a
difference in status between different political issues. When politics becomes a
natural sphere for women as well, they do not need to assert their existence
through “masculine behavior”.
For the time of this study there was a general suspicion towards women who
had gained a seat through the quota system that is implemented in the village and
town councils (Panchyat Rays). It has been, and to some extent still is, common
that male politicians use the reserved seats to get their wives elected. In many
cases, these women lack both education and confidence and therefore only
become rubberstamps that are acting on behalf of their husbands (I3). As
long as women are not empowered before they get into politics, they will be
trapped in a role where their husbands, or their families, neglect their rights as
citizens and use the gendered structures in order to express their own wills (P2).
The quota system in village and town councils could, however, be a start for
breaking down the patriarchal structures where women to a high extent are viewed
as politically incompetent. Many of the respondents put much trust in the quota
system and witnessed that a change was taking place at the moment:
22
“And in this 15 years in politics I have seen this but now there is not only wives or
relatives of other politicians but independent women are coming forward even if
they don’t have a political background”. (P5)
Women who are taking political seats might function as role models for other
women in the community (A5). Anne Phillips stresses the importance of
identification with those who are the political representatives and even if the
substance of politics does not change with more female politicians, the self-image
of women would probably change in a positive direction (2000:99).
23
6
Conclusion
The aim of this thesis was to find the underlying causes to women’s low
representation in political assemblies, and if an increased female voting activity is
a sign of changing gender patterns. The study was carried out through a two
months field study in Goa, India. The conclusion that could be drawn is that an
increased voting ratio, as well as education, does not necessarily have any
decisive effect on the gendered notion of citizenship. The concept of citizenship
provides a narrow definition that pertains certain characteristics as more suitable
than others when it comes to defining who is suitable to take part in citizen
activities.
The respondents in this study perceived the public-private divide as one of the
main reasons as to why women are not taking part in formal politics to the same
extent as men. Women have in general the main responsibility for the children and
the household and these tasks are incompatible with political involvement. The
gendered division of labour was reflected in the political parties’ reluctance to
nominate female candidates. The majority representation system in combination
with the single-member constituencies that are used in Goa are both great
hindrances for women’s possibilities to get nominated as candidates to the state
legislature. The public-private divide could also explain reasons for this, since
both political parties and voters consider male politician to be a safer choice to
nominate and vote for. Interestingly, women’s activists that actively stay away
from party politics are also signs of the gendered structure of both politics and
citizenship because they feel that they are not able to affect the decisions
effectively in the patriarchal structure.
Anne Phillips’ theory ”politics of presence” could not be either falsified or
empirically proven since the number of women in the legislative assembly was far
from reaching the critical threshold of 30 % of women. Most of the respondents
were, however, convinced about that more female representatives in the
legislative assemblies would change the policy outcomes, since women have
experiences that today are neglected. Previous research indicate the same scenario
even though the argument about different political priorities does not mean that
women can be seen as one homogeneous group with same interests. Women’s
presence as voters have, however, started to have an impact on what political
programs that are presented by the political parties. Ironically, the gendered
notion of citizenship has an impact on what kind of programs and schedules that
actually are provided. The Ladli Laxhmi scheme, as well as the Griha Aadhar
scheme, was aiming for the female voters but even though they might lead to
positive short time effects for women, they are not aiming to do any substantial
24
about the gendered structures in society, which discourage women to take part in
politics and public life. A likely consequence of the low number of women in the
legislative assembly is also that areas that are considered “female” (for example
family and social issues) are looked upon as they are of secondary importance. As
long as this value-hierarchical thinking is kept, it is hard to be too optimistic about
a possible change even if the female numerical representation increases.
It is important to note that there is a flaw in the validity since this is a case
study; the results that are found do not necessarily concord to cases with similar
conditions. Women’s political underrepresentation is, however, a global
phenomenon and it is probable that the same explanations could be found in other
cases. This thesis should therefore be seen as a complementary explanation rather
than a definite answer.
Further research is, especially, needed on the ability of the quota system to be
used as a tool to solve underrepresentation. It would also be interesting to
investigate more thoroughly how education effects women’s political
participation. It seems as education today is used as an obvious solution to all
problems, but what else needs to be put in place before women are able to be
active citizens in a society?
In conclusion, it should once again be said that women’s underrepresentation in
legislative assemblies is an urgent issue to solve in order to increase the
democracy, not only in Goa and India but all over the world. More women have a
positive impact on the policy outcomes and will help us realize the words once
said by Gandhi: that equality between men and women ought to be the natural
condition of things.
25
7
References
Assister, Alison, (2005). ”Citizenship Revisited” in Yuval-Davis, Nira and
Werbner, Pnina (ed.). Women, Citizenship and Difference”, New Delhi:
Zubaan, p.41-54
Basu, Amrita, (2010). “Gender and Politics” in Jayal, Niraja Gopal & Mehta,
Pratap Bhanu (ed.) (2010). The Oxford companion to politics in India. Delhi:
Oxford University Press
Berinsky, Adam – Lenz, Gabriel (2011). ”Education and Political Participation:
Exploring the Causal Link.”, Politicial Behaviour, Vol. 33:3 p.357-373
Burns, Nancy, Schlozman, Kay Lehman & Verba, Sidney (2001). The private
roots of public action: gender, equality, and political participation.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press
Chari, Anurekha, (2009). “Gendered Citizenship and Women’s Movement”,
2009-04-25, Economic & Political Weekly, vol. 17.
Chhibber, Pradeep (2002). “Why Are Some Women Politically Active? The
Household, Public Space, And Political Participation In India.”, International
Journal of Comparative Sociology. Vol 43:3-5, p.409-430
Devi, Shakuntala (1999). Women’s Status and Social Change. Jaipur: Pointer
Publishers.
Devlin, Claire – Elgie, Robert, 2008. “The Effect of Increased Women’s
Representation in Parliament: The Case of Rwanda” Parliamentary Affairs
Vol. 61 No. 2 p.237-254
Esaiasson, Peter (2003). Metodpraktikan: konsten att studera samhälle, individ
och marknad. 2., [rev.] ed. Stockholm: Norstedts juridik
Esaiasson, Peter (2007). Metodpraktikan: konsten att studera samhälle, individ
och marknad. 3., [rev.] ed. Stockholm: Norstedts juridik
Europaparlamentet (1997), Generaldirektoratet för Forskning: Arbetsdokument –
Serien kvinnors rättigheter: “Valsystem” [Electronic resource] Available:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/workingpapers/femm/w10/1_sv.htm
Downloaded: 2013-05-12
Freedman, Jane, 2003. Feminism: en introduktion. 1. ed. Malmö: Liber.
Goa Express (2013). “Goa Ladies Police Shy Away From Performing Field
Duties”
2013-02-02.
[Electronic
Resource]
Available:
http://www.goaexpress.net/newsDetails.php?id=306 Downloaded: 2013-05-12
Gowda, M.V. Rajeev – Sridharan E. (2012) “Reforming India's Party Financing
and Election Expenditure Laws.” Election Law Journal Vol.11:2. p.226-240
26
IPU 1 = Inter Parlimamentary Union, (2013) “Women in national parliaments”
[Electronic resource] Available: http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm
Downloaded: 2013-04-11
IPU 2 = Inter Parliamentary Union, (2008) “Equality in Politics: A survey of
Women and Men in Parliaments” [Electronic Resource] Available:
http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/equality08-e.pdf Downloaded: 2013-0418
Kvale, Steinar & Brinkmann, Svend (2009). Den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun.
2. ed. Lund: Studentlitteratur
Landguiden 1 = Landguiden (2011), Indien, ”Sociala Förhållanden” [Elektronic
resource] Available: http://www.landguiden.se/Lander/Asien/Indien/SocialaForhallanden Downloaded: 2012-09-04
Lister, Ruth, 2003. Citizenship: feminist perspectives. 2. ed. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan
Lovenduski, Joni & Baudino, Claudie (ed.), 2005. State feminism and political
representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Maslak, Mary Ann – Singhal, Gayatri (2008). “The identity of educated women in
India: confluence or divergence?”. Gender & Education Vol 20:5. p. 481-493
Mayer, Alexander K. (2011). “Does Education Increase Political Participation?”.
Journal of Politics. Vol.73:3 p.633-645
Monro, Suraya, (2005). Gender Politics – Citizenship, Activism and Sexual
Diversity. London: Pluto Press.
Nationalencyklopedien 1 = Nationalencyklopedien, “Sati”, [electronic resource]
Available: http://www.ne.se/lang/sati/301241 Downloaded: 2013-03-20
One
billion
rising
(2013)
[Electronic
resource]
Available:
http://onebillionrising.org/news/entry/one-billion-raped-one-billion-rising
Downloaded: 2013-02-20
Phillips, Anne (2000). The Politics of Presence. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Population Census (2011), “Goa: Litteracy Rate” [Electronic Resource]
Available: http://www.census2011.co.in/census/state/goa.html Downloaded:
2013-05-12
Rai, Praveen (2011). “Electoral Pariticipation of Women in India: Key
Determinants and Barriers”, 2011-01-15, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
3
Rajan, Rajeswari Sunder, 2003. The Scandal of the State – Women, Law and
Citizenship in Postcolonial India. New Delhi: Permanent Black.
Rothstein, Bo – Eek, Daniel (2006). “Political Corruption and Social Trust: An
Experimental Approach”. American Political Science Association.
Conference Papers, 2006 Annual Meeting. p.1-42.
Salgaonkar, Seema P (2000) Women, political power and the state in Goa,
dissertation, Goa University
Sapra, Sonalini – Ackerly Brooke (2006). “On Women and Citizenship: Silence
and Speech in Transnational Women's Movements.” Conference Papers,
International Studies Association 2006 Annual Meeting, p.1-32)
27
Skogar, Annika (2013) “Kvinnor studerar för att gifta sig” Lundagård 2013:3
Sunny, Shiv (2012). “Women's Reservation Bill: Chronology”, 2012-11-27, The
Sunday
Indian
[Electronic
resource]
Availabe:
http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/womens-reservation-billchronology/254/44074/ Downloaded: 2013-04-11
The Times of India (2012). “Goa needs to curb female foeticide on priority: CM”,
2012-03-26
[Electronic
resource]
Available:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-0326/goa/31239441_1_female-foeticide-manohar-parrikar-girl-child
Downloaded: 2013-03-27
The Times of India (2012) ”Goa govt launches inflation allowance for
housewives”
2012-10-02
[Electronic
Resource]
Available:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-02/goa/34216889_1_goagovt-goa-government-manohar-parrikar Downloaded: 2012-05-12
Thirani, Neha (2012) “In India, A Surge in Female Voters” 2012-03-07 The New
York
Times
[Electronic
resource]
Available:
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/women-voters-flock-to-polls-inindias-latest-elections/ Downloaded: 2012-09-10
UN = The United Nations, (2009) “The division for advancement of Women, The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women” [Electronic
resource]
Available:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm Downloaded 201304-11
UN Women South Asia, (2012), “More women vote in India’s state assembly
elections”,
2012-03-09
[Elektronic
resource]
Available:
http://www.unwomensouthasia.org/2012/more-women-vote-inindia%E2%80%99s-state-assembly-elections/ Downloaded: 2012-11-14
Warren, Karen J. & Cady, Duane L. (ed.) (1996). Bringing peace home:
feminism, violence, and nature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press
Wide, Jessika (2006). Kvinnors politiska representation i ett jämförande
perspektiv: nationell och lokal nivå. Diss. Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2006
Yuval-Davis, Nira and Werbner, Pnina ”Introduction” in Yuval-Davis, Nira and
Werbner, Pnina (ed.) (2005). Women, Citizenship and Difference”, New
Delhi: Zubaan, p.41-54
Zeenews (2012) “Goa govt launches 'Ladli Lakshmi' scheme” 2012-07-06
[Electronic Resource] Available: http://zeenews.india.com/news/goa/goagovt-launches-ladli-lakshmi-scheme_785897.html Downloaded: 2013-05-12
Transcripts from the interviews available upon request.
28
8
Appendix 1 – List of respondents
Informants
(I1) Dr Shaila de Souza, Teacher in charge of the Centre for Women Studies, Goa
University, 2013-01-17
(I2) Masters students in Political Science, Goa University, 2013-01-17
(I3) Solano di Silva, Political Scientist, lectuer at BITS Pilani College, Goa 201301-22
(I4) Sujatha Mulla, Principal at St John School, Gulbarga, and social worker for
Hindustani Covenant Church with responsibility for several self-help groups
for women, 2013-02-17
Women Activists and Journalists
(A1) Sabina Martins, well-known Goan women’s rights activist and founder of
the women’s collective Baliancho Saad, 2013-01-23
(A2) Albertina Almeida, lawyer well-known Goan women’s rights activist, 201301-30
(A3) Rajeshree Nagarsekar, women’s rights advocate and editor of Goa’s first
women’s magazine Evescape, 2013-01-29
(A4) Nadini Sahai, Director of the International Centre of Goa and former editor
of Grassroots, 2013-01-17
(A5) Ezilda Dias Sapeco, chairperson of Goa State Commission for Women,
2013-01-21
Politicians
(P1) Nelly Rodrigues, President of the South Goa Zilla Panchayat and former
candidate to Goa state legislative assembly (Vidhan Shaba), 2013-02-18
(P2) Anagha Paranjape-Purohit, architect, independent politician and former
candidate to the municipality council in Pune, 2013-02-05
(P3) Alina Saldanha, Member of Goa legislative assembly and Goa’s Minister of
Forest and Environment, 2013-02-15,
(P4) Kunda Chodonkar, Chairperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s women’s
wing and former candidate to the state legislature (Vidhan Shaba)
(P5) Radhika Nayak, Principal at Dempo College, former counselor of Ponda and
active politician for 15 years, 2013-01-30
29
(P6) Vinay Tendulkar – President of the Goan branch of the Bharatiya Janata
Party
30
Appendix 2 – Interview guides
9
9.1
Key informants
I. Introduction
– Tell me about your background.
II. The political climate of India (Goa)
– What do you think about the political parties that today are represented in the
state legislature (Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress,
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Goa Vikas Party, and the Independent)?
– Do people in India (Goa) trust the politicians?
– Is there any debate about the underrepresentation of women in the state
legislature (Vidhan Shaba)?
– Do you think female politicians are perceived in other ways than male
politicians?
– Do you know anything about the relationship between political NGO’s and the
political parties?
III. Involement in political parties
– Is it possible to give a broad picture of who’s getting involved in political
parties in India (Goa)? Old, young, rich etc.
– How do parties work with recruitment of new members?
– Do you think women and men have the same interest of politics in India?
IV. Voting behavior
– Why do you think that women in Goa vote to such a high extent compared to
others states in India?
– How do you think it comes that they vote more than men? Is it just a coincidence?
V. Enclosure questions
– Do you like to add anything to what we already have talked about?
31
9.2
NGOs, Women’s Rights Activists
I.Introduction
– Tell me about your background.
II. Reasons for organizing
– Why did you start being an activist on women’s issues?
– What do you consider being the most urgent problem to tackle as a person
working for women’s rights in (Goa) India?
– What are the best methods to use in order to achieve this?
III. Views upon the political climate of Goa (India)
– What do you think about the political parties that today are represented in the
state legislature (Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress,
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Goa Vikas Party, and the Independent)?
– Is there any debate about the underrepresentation of women in the Vidan Shaba?
– Do you think female politicians are perceived in other ways than male
politicians?
IV. Voting behavior
– Why do you think that women in Goa vote to such a high extent compared to
others states in India?
– How do you think it comes that they vote more than men? Is it just a coincidence?
V.Enclosure questions
– Do you like to add anything to what we already have talked about?
32
9.3 Politicians
I. Introduction
– Tell me about your background
II. Reasons for the political involvement
– What made you involved into politics?
– How long have you been active in a political party?
– What is your aim as a politician? What is your most important
struggle/campaign/law in your political career so far?
III. Gender experience
– Do you think men and women have the same interest in politics? Why/Why not?
– Do you think your political experience would be different if you were man?
– Do you think that the experience of being female makes you look on political
issues in a different way compared to your male colleagues?
– Why do you think there are so few women involved in the politics of Goa?
IV. Voting behavior
– Why do you think that women in Goa vote to such a high extent compared to
others states in India?
– How do you think it comes that they vote more than men? Is it just a coincidence?
V. Enclosure questions
– Do you like to add anything to what we already have talked about?
33