Andhra Pradesh Governor says India lags behind in the participation of women in politics

India is lagging behind in politically empowering women, and ranks 148 out of 193 countries when it comes to participation in Parliament, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh Justice (Retd) S. Abdul Nazeer said on Monday (September 15, 2025).

Justice Nazeer made the remarks in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the valedictory session of the first national conference on parliamentary and legislative committees on the empowerment of women.

“Where women are honoured, divinity flourishes, and where women are dishonoured, nothing becomes fruitful,” Justice Nazeer quoted a verse in Sanskrit, and invoked Hindu texts, including the Vedas and the Manusmriti.

The former Supreme Court judge also extensively quoted different laws and judgments that seek to protect women.

In that backdrop, he mentioned the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill, which would increase the share women legislators in Parliament and in the State Assemblies.

“At the time of the Bill’s passage, only 14% of the Lok Sabha’s legislators were women — only 14% — while that represents India’s highest proportion since Independence, it was far below the global average of 26.5%,” Justice Nazeer said.

Amongst the State Legislative Assemblies, Chhattisgarh has the highest share of women legislators at 18%, while Himachal Pradesh has just one woman MLA, and Mizoram has none, he said.

The law to reserve 33% of the seats in State Assemblies and in the Lok Sabha for women would now enable their greater participation in policy-making and equitable governance at the State and national levels, Justice Nazeer said.

“In terms of women’s participation in Parliament at the global level, I am sorry, India is ranked at 148 among 193 countries, ranked 31st among 47 Asian countries, and fifth amongst eight SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries. This clearly shows that India is lagging behind in the empowerment of women politically,” he said, urging more women to participate in politics.

Mr. Birla, addressing the valedictory session of the conference, expressed concern over the absence of legislative panels in several State assemblies. He made a strong pitch for constituting legislative committees on the empowerment of women to address issues, including gender accountability in budgetary allocations.

“I will soon write to the presiding officers of the State Assemblies to have legislative committees on the empowerment of women, and [on] child development,” the Lok Sabha Speaker told reporters after the conclusion of the conference.