This document discusses the political empowerment of women. It provides historical examples of when women were first granted voting rights in different countries. It also examines current statistics on gender gaps and the low representation of women in politics in India. The document outlines some of the barriers women face in entering politics, such as patriarchal cultural norms, family responsibilities, and unfair party nomination processes. It concludes by highlighting several influential female world leaders throughout history.

1. Political Empowerment
of Women
By
Arul Actovin C
2nd Year MSW(CD)

2. EMPOWERMENT
 Empowerment as a multi-dimensional social process that
helps people gain control over their own lives.
 Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity
of individuals or groups to make choices and to
transform those choices into desired actions and
outcomes

3. Voting Rights
 1718 - Swedan (first country in the world)
 1950 – India
 2015 - Saudi Arabian(municiple election)

4. Current Scenario
 Gender gap – 114th rank
 Women’s participation in politics – 117th rank (Rwanda 1st)
 Lok sabha -62 out of 543(11.2%)
 Rajya sabha – 29 out of 243 (11.9%)

5. South Korea
 Huge increase of women in
the South Korean National Assembly:
- 5.7% (2000)  13.4% (2004)
30% reservation quota to women.

6. Women face countless difficulties in their attempt
to become legislators
Reasons
• Politics is considered to be
•men’s realm
Problem
Dearth of women who
wish
to take part in politics
Cultural
factors
Patriarchal culture
• Traditionally women were excluded
from high positions
Religion
• Social division of gender roles
legitimized by religious doctrine
and practice acted to curb
female potential
Modern military state • Women were excluded from public
activities in the military culture

7. Lack of experienced women
Woman’s family
responsibility
Unfair party nomination
process
Election system
Election campaigns
• Most women have been forced to
have “feminine” occupations and
it is hard to enter in politics trough
such occupations
• It is often hard to juggle time and
energy between family and politics
• Nomination is conducted through
a ‘closed’ decision cycle and too often,
through unfair methods that
discriminate women candidates
• Small election district majority
system is unfavorable for women
• There are problems associated with
the generation of funds and the
establishment of effective organizations
during election campaigns
Procedural
factor

8. Great/Powerful Women in
Politics

9. Sukhbaataryn Yanjmaa
1953-1954
(Mongolia)
World’s first female
(acting) president

10. Isabel Peron
1974-1976
(Argentina)
World’s first female
(non-acting)
president

11. Vidgis Finnbogadottir
1980-1996
(Iceland)
World’s first female
elected president and
first female world
leader who did not
have a father or
husband who was also
leader at one time

12. Margaret Thatcher
1979-1990 (UK)
The longest-serving
Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom of
the 20th century

13. Mary McAleese
1997-2011 (Ireland)
First female president
to directly succeed
another female
president

14. Sirimavo Bandaranaike
1960–65, 1970–77
and 1994-2000 (Sri
Lanka)
First female prime
minister to directly
succeed another
female prime
minister

15. Chandrika Kumaratunga
1994-2000 (Sri Lanka)
First time the nation
possessed a female
president and female prime
minister (Sirimavo
Bandaranaike – previous
slide) simultaneously

16. Julia Gillard
2010-present
First prime minister
of Australia

17. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
2009-present
(Iceland)
World’s first openly
lesbian world leader,
first female world
leader to wed a
same-sex partner
while in office

18. Benazir Bhutto
1988-1990
(Pakistan)
The first female
prime minister of
any Muslim
majority countries.
Re-elected again in
1993.

19. Michelle Obama
2008-present
Wife of the first African-
American President of
the United States of
America Barack Obama,
and first African-
American First Lady of
the United States.

20. Indira Gandhi
 Mrs. Indira Gandhi, first women Prime Minister of
India, 1966-77 and 1980-84. She was assassinated
in 1984.

21. Aank sank suki
 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a non-violent
pro-democracy social activist of Myanmar
 Winner of the 1990 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
and the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

23. Are women politically empowered in
India?
 Democracy country
 73rd and 74th amendments(women’s reservation- women-quota in
panchayats and local bodies is being increased to 50-
percent from earlier 33-percent
 Women as social category suffer discrimination cutting across caste,
class, religion in our society

25. If we are going to see the real
development in the world then our
best investment is women - Desmond Tutu
(fearless social activist and the first black archbishop in Cape Town)

26. Xz
“{
Future society will not progress without making the
best use of its women.
Not doing so is like running a race with only one leg
or thinking with only half a brain.