Kolhapur : Sunil Kadam
Right from the very first election of the country, all educated people, including women, were given the right to vote in India. At that time, India had taken a step of social revolution by giving women the right to vote. Because many countries around the world took one hundred and fifty years to make such a decision.
Lok Sabha elections 2024 : History of women voting!
In the past, democratic governance was rare, with exceptions in many countries around the world. Monarchy, community representative assembly, head of state were voted for; But not everyone in that country participated in this process. In some countries only the wealthy had the right to vote, where only men had the right to vote, but in most places women, laborers and the poor did not have the right to vote in any election. There were also social movements all over the world for women, laborers and the poor to get the right to vote. Therefore, from the second half of the eighteenth century, women began to get the right to vote in different countries around the world.
Lok Sabha elections 2024 : 19th century thrust!
For the first time in 1838, women on Pitcairn Island under British rule got the right to vote. But in the British country, which gave women the right to vote, it took 1918 for women to get the right to vote. Some major countries around the world granted voting rights to women as follows: Norway – 1913, Canada – 1917, Britain – 1918, Germany – 1918, Austria – 1919, Netherlands – 1919, America – 1920, France – 1944, Greece – 1952, Australia – 1894 , Saudi Arabia- 2011 etc.
Lok Sabha elections 2024 : In India immediately!
Interestingly, all these countries were already independent and had regimes of different types, but determined through popular participation. Despite this, it took a hundred and fifty years for women there to get the right to vote. Women got the right to vote after 144 years in America and 100 years of struggle in England. In India, however, in the very first election, women also got the right to vote, which should be understood as a symbol of the honor of women's power in Indian democracy.
Lok Sabha elections 2024: Sealed even before independence!
Even before independence i.e. in 1921, the then Bombay and Madras provinces decided to give women the right to vote. After that, other provinces of the country also decided to give voting rights to women. This means that even before India's independence, the society here was determined to give women the right to vote. As proof of this, in the first election after independence, women got voting rights equal to men.
Lok Sabha elections 2024 : British opposition!
The British, however, were opposed to giving women in India the right to vote. For that, British officials raised questions about the efficiency of Indian women. Similarly, if women are given the right to vote, they will be neglected in their families.
Impressive performance by women!
However, by breaking all these doubts, it seems that today the women here have contributed a lot to strengthen the democratic system. Many women have made historic achievements not only as voters but also as effective leaders of different political parties in subsequent periods. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Former President Pratibhatai Patil, Current President Draupadi Murmu, Sonia Gandhi, Self. Sushma Swaraj, Vijayaraje Shinde, BSP's Mayawati, Anna DMK's own. Jayalalithaa, Trinamool Congress' Mamata Banerjee are some of the notable names. It is because of getting the right to vote that today women have made their mark from gram panchayat to parliament.
The battle for 33 percent reservation is still going on!
Although women have got 33 percent reservation in local bodies these days, the decision to give 33 percent reservation in Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha is still pending. Since 1966, a bill in this regard has been pending in the Lok Sabha for various reasons. As a result, the number of women elected to the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha has never reached three figures. If this bill is passed, that day will be a golden day for women.
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