Women’s collective warns parties to ensure 33% women candidates for Assembly polls or face NOTA

A women-led collective in Kerala has warned political parties to field women in at least one-third of Assembly seats or risk a protest vote via NOTA.

The Thulya Prathinidhya Prasthanam, which advocates gender equality in politics, on the eve of Women’s Day placed five key demands before political parties as the State prepares for the 16th Kerala Assembly elections.

The movement has called on the political parties to ensure that at least 33% of candidates are women; guarantee the presence of at least one transgender representative in the next Assembly; appoint a woman as the next Chief Minister; allocate one-third of Cabinet positions to women, and deny party tickets to those accused of sexual crimes.

“If political parties refuse to respond positively to these demands, we will be forced to launch a campaign urging voters to support only women candidates. In constituencies without women candidates, we will ask voters to press NOTA as a democratic protest,” said Professor Kusumam Joseph, chairperson of the movement.

She said the organisation had approached major political parties seeking a commitment to field women in at least one-third of Assembly constituencies.

Lack of commitment

“Unfortunately, the signals emerging from political parties are not encouraging. Despite repeated appeals, there has been no concrete assurance on increasing women’s representation,” she said.

The movement pointed out that although Parliament passed the Women’s Reservation Bill in September 2023 to reserve 33% seats for women in Parliament and State Assemblies, its implementation has been tied to population census and delimitation exercises.

“These conditions could indefinitely delay the law. The LDF and the UDF that demanded immediate implementation must now prove their sincerity by voluntarily giving one-third of Assembly tickets to women,” Prof. Joseph said.

The organisation had earlier submitted a “Pen Memorial” signed by one lakh people to the leadership of both fronts ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, urging greater representation for women.

“That appeal was simply ignored,” she said.

Highlighting the stark gender imbalance in legislative bodies, K.M. Rema, executive member of the movement, said deep-rooted male dominance in politics continues to keep women out of power.

When women form 52% of the population but remain marginal in legislatures even after 75 years of independence, it clearly shows that our democracy is structurally unequal, she said.

“Look at the reality. In the Kerala Assembly there are only about a dozen women among more than a hundred legislators. In Parliament too the pattern is similar. When legislative bodies are overwhelmingly male, it means the voices and experiences of half the population are missing from decision-making,” Ms. Rema pointed out.

Representation for transgenders

The movement also stressed that transgender persons remain completely absent from legislative institutions. “This is a community that has never even been considered for representation in law-making bodies. Ensuring their presence in the Assembly is a necessity of our times,” the leaders said.

They further demanded that women should receive at least one-third representation not only in the Assembly but also in the Cabinet.

Pointing out that India has seen women Chief Ministers in 13 States, the organisation said Kerala has never elected a woman to the post despite having capable leaders.

M. Sulfath, convener of the movement, said allowing those accused of sexual violence into legislatures would damage the dignity of democratic institutions.

The movement said the NOTA option, recognised by a Supreme Court judgment in 2013, gives voters a democratic way to register dissent against political parties. “Using NOTA is a peaceful but powerful signal to parties that democracy must move beyond male dominance,” the organisation said.