No political party can afford to take women voters for granted

In the recent Assembly election in Punjab, the percentage of women who came out to cast their votes was 78.14 per cent, against 76.69 per cent men voters.

It is apparent this is not an isolated scenario, but one that has been prevalent over the last decade, much before women outnumbered men as voters in nine states during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

This included populous states like Orissa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh. At the national level, India saw the gender gap shrink remarkably in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as 66 per cent women came out to vote, compared to 67 per cent men.

Women citizens continued to assert their political right in the state elections of Bihar, Assam, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

They desire a seat at the high table too, but there is a long way to go before this goal can be realised as female representation in assemblies and the two houses of Parliament ranges from a mere 9 to 11 per cent.

The Amendment Bill to reserve seats in the lower house and assemblies for women has yet to get assent.

The significant participation of women voters is a clear reflection of the growing aspirations of the Indian woman.

She is demanding inclusion in the agenda of politics, even though she is less demonstrative and vocal than her counterparts in other countries.

It is difficult to imagine a classic protest like the one in Iceland in 1975, during which a massive number of the country's women went on strike for a day - refusing to work, cook and look after children.

This symbolic move changed the way Iceland saw its women, and the country got its first woman president five years later - and Europe its first democratically-elected woman head of state.

Indian women may be less assertive, but they make definitive demands for fair and non-discriminatory arenas to operate in.

A few concerns that cut across all sections broadly revolve around their personal safety, effective economic participation and health - especially maternal health as also their children's.

Political parties recognise these expectations and have featured them in their manifestos.

Attempts are also continuously made to address some of them through various programmes in urban and rural areas.

In Bollywood, which caters to popular sentiments, these concerns are now depicted through some mainstream offerings.

In cinema halls, there has been a proliferation of women-centric offerings. Pink is about three young, working women with its now famous dialogue, "No means NO."

With prominent mainstream icon Amitabh Bachchan at its helm, this film revolves around women's safety and their right to choice, and exposes attitudes that stifle their quest for independence.

The desire to break free of restrictive social norms is effectively reflected in Parched, which portrays poignantly the aspirations and struggles of four women in Gujarat.

The more recent Dangal captures the herculean efforts an ordinary middle class family is willing to make to ensure the success of its daughters. All this is a far cry from the times when Indian parents had ambitions only for their sons; the mood is changing and even in semi-urbanised India, one channels one's dreams and hopes through one's daughters!

With elections underway in the country's most-populous state, Uttar Pradesh and the Parliament elections fast approaching, it is time for all political parties to understand the constituency women make up better and more specifically.

Aspirants of power need to identify how these aspirations can be translated into impactful policies. Some work has been done in this direction - their enrolment in schools is increasing. The percentage of girls enrolling in primary schools in rural areas (47.27 per cent) is almost similar to enrolment in urban areas (47.8 per cent).

Under MGNREGA, 50 per cent of the participation is by women. With increased access to information and communication, and a greater share in higher education, women are exploring diverse and challenging careers like financial services and aviation.

Birth and fertility rates have fallen while female life expectancy has increased.Women of the day are prepared to defy restrictive norms and overcome social and security constraints to race ahead.

They are preparing themselves for the next leap forward and expect much more than mere manifestos from their political representatives.

They recognise that manifestos seldom ensure outcomes. According to an ILO report, between 2004-2011, when the Indian economy grew at a healthy average of 7 per cent, women's participation in the labour force declined from 35 to 25 per cent.

Literacy rate, meanwhile, has had no correlation with employment. While 65 per cent Indian women (and 82 per cent Indian men) are literate, only 25 per cent women are in the labour force as opposed to 80 per cent men.

The Employment-unemployment survey (EUS) for 2015-16 reveals that the unemployment rate in the country increased to 5 per cent, and this has been attributed to the increase in unemployment among women in rural areas.

Public spaces are becoming less safe for women, directly impacting their ability to benefit from economic progress.

It is no coincidence that Delhi, the state with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) yet a state considered most unsafe, has only 10.6 per cent working women as against the national average of 25 per cent.

Women want control over health and maternity choices: the outcry in some developed countries against anti-abortion laws is a testimony to this.

In India, while legislations have often been progressive, the health indicators are rather inadequate, especially those for maternal, infant and child mortality. Support systems like crèches, safe and connected transport networks that facilitate women's participation outside their homes too are inadequate.

Increasing involvement of women in the electoral process will inevitably raise the demand for outcomes on safety, livelihood and health. It would be sagacious for different political parties to recognise these legitimate expectations and identify a judicious way forward.

This political constituency would look beyond manifestos, toward policy implementations that demonstrate visible and quantifiable impact - any party that ignores their concerns would do so at its own peril.