New Political Strategy Targeting Women

Source: The post New Political Strategy Targeting Women has been created, based on the article “Rethinking the woman voter” published in “Business Standard” on 4th January 2025

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper1- Social Issues – Women Empowerment

Context: The article discusses how political parties in India target women voters by offering them benefits like cash grants, free transport, and safety measures. These initiatives aim to empower women and secure their votes, as women increasingly make independent voting decisions. New Political Strategy Targeting Women

For detailed information on Political Empowerment of Women read this article here

What is the New Political Strategy Targeting Women?

Political parties in India are focusing on women as a key voting group. They offer benefits like cash grants, free transportation, and safety measures to attract their votes.

Some Initiatives are:

1. Free Bicycles for Girls (2005-06): Introduced by Nitish Kumar in Bihar, this initiative significantly boosted his political support among women.
2. 50% Reservation in Panchayati Raj (2006): Also by Nitish Kumar, aimed to empower women in local governance, although some proxy decision-making by men was reported.
3. Direct Cash Transfers: Schemes like Madhya Pradesh’s Laadli Behna, Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin, and similar programs across about 10 Indian states provided direct financial benefits to women.
4. Ujjwala Yojana: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched this scheme to provide cooking gas connections to women, aiming for national outreach and impacting numerous households across India.
5. AAP’s Women’s Safety Campaign in Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party launched initiatives to improve lighting in public spaces and enhance overall safety, specifically targeting women’s security in the capital city.
6. Free Public Transport: Implemented in several states including Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Karnataka, increasing women’s participation in the workforce by reducing their dependence on family members for transportation.

How Do Women Respond to These Initiatives?

1. Increased Financial Autonomy: The percentage of women with their own bank accounts increased significantly from 53% in 2015-16 to 79% in 2019-21, demonstrating greater financial independence.
2. Decision-Making in Earnings: Women’s participation in decisions about their earnings rose slightly from 82% to 85% over the same period.
3. Mobile Phone Ownership: More women now own mobile phones, with 54% having personal access, and 71% of those can read text messages independently.

What are the Challenges?

1. Cultural and Social Factors: Traditional roles and low financial literacy can lead to mismanagement of funds, such as in the Assam microcredit crisis.
2. Economic Burden on States: Implementing these women-centric policies is costly, with states allocating $18 billion in 2024-25, amounting to 0.5% of India’s GDP.
3. Inefficient Expenditure: The Assam microcredit situation showed that free money might lead to crises if not managed well, with many women unable to repay loans, resulting in a collective default.

Conclusion:

Targeting women as a distinct voting group is proving to be a powerful political strategy, changing traditional voting patterns and possibly the political landscape.

Question for practice:

Examine how the initiatives aimed at women’s empowerment and safety are influencing their voting behavior in India.