A representative image. Photo: AFP
India has a good track record of women's political participation and the success of panchayats has often been referred to as a "silent revolution" within the democratic decentralisation process, a senior US diplomat said.
Alyssa Ayres, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia said according to the Inter Parliamentary Union, (IPU), women hold 20 per cent of seats in Parliaments worldwide and the goal should be to reach 50 per cent at all levels by 2050.
"India has a good track record of electing women to govern key states - at one point (until the change of government in Uttar Pradesh), India had four women Chief Ministers in absolutely key, strategic states -- U.P., Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal," she said.
"These four states account for something like 300 million people, so that is quite showing," she said, speaking on 'Beyond the Glass Ceiling.'
Noting that women account for only 18 per cent of members of South Asia's legislatures as of 2011, up from more than 13 per cent in 1995, she said, "unfortunately, the US is no exception."
The diplomat said according to the World Bank, higher rates of female participation in governments are associated with lower levels of corruption.
Lauding India's panchayat system, she said approximately 40 per cent of all elected representatives in villages and municipal councils are now women, following the 1993 Constitutional amendment reserving at least one third of seats for them in 2,65,000 village governing bodies.
"In fact, Kerala has taken this step further by upping the reservations to the 50 per cent mark.....The success of India's panchayats has often been a referred to as a silent revolution within the democratic decentralisation process," she added.
Tag : #women #news #Panchayats
from
IBNLive
J&K: Infiltration along LoC, 1 killed
One Junior Commanding Officer was killed and another jawan injured after a major infiltration bid by a group of six terrorists was foiled by the Army along LoC in Machil in Kupwara district of North Kashmir.
from IBNLive
Dutt read religious books in jail: Official
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt spent his first night after returning to prison reading spiritual books.
from IBNLive
K'taka: 28 MLAs inducted in cabinet
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday expanded his Cabinet with the induction of 28 Ministers.
from
IBNLive
CBI officer caught taking bribe
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official, who is also the Chief Investigating Officer probing the coal block allocation scam, was caught taking a bribe of Rs 15 lakh on Friday.
from
PTI
TN: Farmers threaten mass suicides
Farmers in Coimbatore region on Friday threatened that they would resort to mass suicides if government went ahead with its plan to increase power tariff.
from
IBNLive
Chennai: MK Stalin surrenders illegal car
DMK leader MK Stalin on Friday surrendered his illegally-imported Hummer to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Chennai.
from
IBNLive
B'lore office blast: Police still clueless
A month after an explosion took place opposite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Malleshwaram in Bangalore, police are yet to zero in on the person who had planted the bomb.
