Every five years, close to the general elections, the deb­ate over having more women representation in ticket distribution and in Parliament begins in all earnest and with the hope that this time would be different. Only for people to realise that more things change the more they remain the same. When it comes to deciding candidates, it is the women, yet again, who are left out. Is it the political organisation’s inability to have faith in women to deliver results or is it because women are missing in the core decision-making bodies of most political parties? It is a mix of both.

The story continues in the 2019 general elections, in which we have seen a mere 11% of women candidates in the first three phases. So, is 33% reservation for women merely a lip service? Clearly, it is for political parties across the spectrum to deliver on this. However, at the regional level, two poli­tical parties have managed to deliver on their commitment to field more than 33% women candidates.

There are enough statistics to show that, on one hand, women are turning out...