Women's Political Participation in South Asain Countries: A Review

Women constitute slightly more than half of the world population. Their contribution to the social and economic development of societies is also more than half as compared to that of men by virtue of their dual roles in the productive and reproductive spheres. Yet their participation in formal political structures and processes, where decisions regarding the use of societal resources generated by both men and women are made, remains insignificant. A series of seminal studies of participation have reported that women's representation in governance structure is not impressive in across many democracies, old and new. In South Asian countries women received the right to vote and stand for election much later than the women of industrial democracies. Due to the continuous Dominance of the patriarchal value system they remain discriminated and treated as second class citizens. The current Constitutions of the south Asian countries incorporate specific provisions to provide some political Support to women. Despite special measures set by the government for women's political Participation, women have not been benefited from such measures. This paper presents an overview of the status of women's participation in governance in five South Asian countries-Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with emphasis on the local level of governance.