Report reveals only 18 Muslim women elected to Lok Sabha since 1947

Report reveals only 18 Muslim women elected to Lok Sabha since 1947
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A new report published on Maktoob Media highlights the stark underrepresentation of Muslim women in Lok Sabha.

It points to the ongoing demands for reservation for Muslim and OBC women triggering sharp exchanges in the House, as only 18 have been elected to the Lok Sabha since 1947 despite Muslims comprising about 7.1% of the population, and five Lok Sabhas having no Muslim woman MP at all.

A majority, 13 of the 18 came from political families, and no southern state, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, or Telangana, has ever elected a Muslim woman to the Lok Sabha.

The issue is documented in the book “Missing from the House, Muslim Women in the Lok Sabha” by Rasheed Kidwai and Ambar Kumar Ghosh, which profiles these 18 leaders.

In the current Lok Sabha, there is only one Muslim woman MP, Iqra Hasan Choudhury of the Samajwadi Party.

On Thursday, a confrontation began in Lok Sabha when SP MP Dharmendra Yadav demanded that Muslim and OBC women be included within the reservation framework, saying the party would oppose the Bill otherwise and arguing that delinking delimitation from the Census was unconstitutional.