Women in Leadership: Politics and Public Administration

“Power is not given one has to take it.” This has been the scenario with women in India and in other countries around the world for long years. Although they have accepted the harsh truth and have eventually learned to take a stand for themselves and fight for basic, social and political rights. The under-representation of women constituted a serious democratic deficit, which undermined the legitimacy of the contemporary democratic ideal. Since the seventeenth century, by now there have been many reform movements supported by men for betterment of the situation that had arisen. Many laws came into force giving important political rights to women in India. According to Article 360 of the Indian constitution, adult suffrage will be used as the foundation for elections to the House of People and the state legislatures. Every Indian citizen who is not less than twenty-one years of age on the date that may be fixed in that regard by or under any law made by the appropriate legislature and who is not otherwise disqualified under this constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, is eligible to vote in the elections for the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly of every State. The Constitution 108th Amendment Bill, 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.