The New Indian Express ·
Missing: Muslim women in Parliament
Seventy-nine years have passed since that stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru proclaimed a “tryst with destiny” and “the soul of a nation, long suppressed, found utterance”. Yet, even after almost eight decades, not everyone’s voice has found utterance in the world’s largest democracy. Women remain under-represented in Parliament: they are 14 percent of the Lok Sabha, though they make up 48.5 percent of the population.
Some women citizens have fared worse than others. Only 20 Muslim women have ever entered the Lok Sabha since 1952. Today, there are just two Muslim women MPs—0.4 percent of the House, representing 7.1 per cent of the population. Rasheed Kidwai and Ambar Ghosh’s recent book, Missing from the House: Muslim Women in India’s Parliament, is a searing reminder of this fact, as well as a call to action, especially as India prepares to implement the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023.
The architects of modern India made women’s emancipation central to the freedom struggle and nation-building. For centuries, women were confined to household roles, denied education and subjected to indignities across social and religious strata. Though figures like Razia Sultan, Noor Jahan and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi blazed trails, they were exceptions. Religious dogma continued to sanction women’s suffering.
