Gender And Politics: Get Real About Power, Who’s Represented, And Fighting Back Today

Abstract

This paper digs into how gender and politics are all tangled up, looking at who has the power, who gets a voice, how things are run, and how people are pushing back. Using ideas from feminist thinkers – like different types of feminism and how they all connect – I argue that women being underrepresented in politics isn’t just a numbers problem. It’s built into the system because politics has always been a man’s world. By looking at ideas and real-world examples from around the globe and in India, like those big changes to the constitution (the 73rd and 74th Amendments, and the Women’s Reservation Act of 2023), I want to show how changes to the rules can help but also hold things back. I also look at the stuff that keeps women out, like how parties pick candidates, violence in politics, money problems, and online harassment. By seeing how all these things connect, I argue that to make things really fair, we need to change the system, change how people think, and keep fighting for what’s right.

DOI - https://doi.org/10.66496/LCAP.9788168710122.2026.318-323